Was it a Dream?
by Haine-of-Winter
Summary: After waking up, Liddell has no clue of what her dream was about. Everyday she keeps getting more and more visions of a strange world. And why does she have this pendant around her neck? Where did it come from?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own A Witch's Tale**_

_**But I have beaten the game! X3 (okay not me, my sis beat the game but I watched the ending with her that's all that matters!) **_

**_P.S I had to reload this chapter because everything I tried fixing did not show on the story itself!:C I just wnated to kill the Uploader everytime I checked to see if it changed.*grabs chainsaw and points torward computer* Hopefully I corrected all the grammical errors, so I hope it's still okay.:D_**

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_Chapter 1_

_I can't believe it. You remembered..._

_Our promise..._

A little girl in a red hood said this, with teary red eyes as she disappeared; leaving behind, a young girl with blond pigtails in despair, watching her friend disappear. The girl wailed out, tears escaping from her violet eyes.

Liddell snapped awake from her dream. She felt tears running down her face, as great sadness held her heart in a clench. She lay in her bed crying into her hands. Ever since that day in the library, she had been having dreams of a strange world. Her dreams sometimes consisted of princess', a vampire, and some strange characters that were confusing to her, but in her dreams she felt so happy, and so sad. Especially with that one dream she kept on having; where a little girl with a red hood on and had red eyes always disappeared. Liddell always woke up crying from that dream, and she didn't know why.

Liddell seized crying and sat up in bed. She saw that it was still the middle of the night. Quietly, she got up from her bed and tiptoed over to the bathroom; making sure not to wake up her roommate, Kitty. Silently, she shut the bathroom door and washed her face in the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror; her eyes were all puffy and red. Around her neck hang the red pendant that had appeared after she woke up in the library. Always would she remember that night though five years have passed. She could only see a few dreams that seemed so real to her that she thought these events had actually happened. Shaking her head, Liddell dried her face off and left the bathroom, tiptoeing to her bed. It was a full moon and she could see everything clearly outside in the streets below and into the graveyard, where Babayaga lived.

"Huh?" Liddell moved closer to the window, peering out father into the graveyard. She thought she saw something moving down there. It seemed like it was just her imagination, when she did see something moving. It looked like a figure; the way it looked seemed so familiar. The way the clothes moved, almost like a cape... Before she knew it, Liddell turned from the window and raced for the door of the room, slamming the it on the way out.

"Wahhhh!" Kitty yelled surprised from her sleep, "Liddell! Where are you going?"

"I'm just going out for a walk. I'll be right back." Liddell replied from the end of the hall. Opening the front doors of the dorm, she ran down the many streets of Lenore; back-tracking at dead ends. Finally she reached the entrance to the graveyard, running straight to Babayaga's house. Liddell immediately started pounding on the doors, "Babayaga! Babayaga! Babayaga!"

"What is it Liddell?" Babayaga, the old woman who had been friends with Liddell since she was a child, asked.

Liddell puffed out exhausted, "Babayaga! Which way*huff* did **he***huff*go?!"

"Who do you mean by **him**?" Babayaga asked, eyebrow arching. Then a little smile crossed her stitched mouth, as she realized what Liddell meant, "Oh! You mean **him**."

"Yes, **Him!***huff*Where did **he***huff*go?!" Liddell said her voice ending on a high pitch.

"I think he said something about going back to a castle for a while." Right away Liddell shot off and sent herself from the cemetery, to the castle, with magic after hearing this. Babayaga just looked at her disappear, and smiled, "Time to make a life for yourself, child."

Her mind was in turmoil as she approached the spooky castle. All she could think about was a warm hand patting her on her head. She clenched the pendant around her neck. She couldn't believe it; could it be... Crashing through the doors of the castle she kept on running straight down the huge corridor, passing the torture room on the right, which had made her so delighted when she first came to this place. Slowing down her pace she approached the stairs that led through some gates to a room with a coffin, covered by roses, in the middle. Standing there was a man with silver hair and a cape on, his back towards her. When the man heard footsteps though, he whirled around with a shocked expression in his red eyes, only for that expression to turn into a warm smile.

All he did was open out his arms, and she ran embracing him in a huge, crying his name, "Loue!"

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**_Haine-of-Winter: Okay, I hope this was okay. Personal I think I have no clue as to what is going to happen to this story myself. But, I'll try to keep it on a good track! :D_**

**_I have no clue how old Liddell was in the game so I'm guessing around 13. So 13+5=18, that would be what age I think she is around this time. If anyone knows her exact age tell me I would like to know. Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope everyone likes it and the next one! ^_^ P.S sorry the story is moving to head kind of rushed things. I'll take it slower with the other chapters (hopefully...)_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Me don't own A Witch's Tale.**_

_** All I really want to say is…Sorry for it being so late. I know a lot of people were waiting for this chapter, and I really appreciate all the people reading this. *bows deeply***_

_** Here is chapter 2 (finally)!**_

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_Chapter 2_

"Loue!" Liddell cried out. Loue and Liddell embraced for a few moments, happy to see one another.

Breaking the embrace and stepping back, Loue placed his hand on top of her head, smiling, "I see you've grown. You hardly look the same; especially your clothes."

Looking down, Liddell remember that she had run outside in her pyjamas, bare footed. At her realization she fisted her hand and punched him in the head, "You're lucky I don't have my pumpkin umbrella with me," she puffed turning away from Loue, who was rubbing his sore head, "And just to tell you it **has** been five years since the last time I saw you. So obviously I've grown."

"Of course you have," he laughed, coming to stand in front of her; his face turning serious, "The fact that you remember me is a good sign. But…"

"But?"

"…Do you remember anything else?"

"Of course I do!" she replied. Without hesitating she continued, "I came here to find the magic book. That's when I met you, and when I let out the Eld Witch (by accident). Then you told me we had to go rescue the six princesses. And then…"

"And then?" he asked quietly, waiting for her to continue.

"And then—" she repeated before a painful throbbing started in her head, "Ah," she flinched, holding her forehead in a hand.

"Liddell?" Loue asked concerned.

The throbbing got worse. Liddell felt as though her head was about to split in two. She had the feeling that she was remembering something. Just on the surface of her memory… If only the throbbing in her head would stop.

"Liddell!"

Liddell heard Loue's voice and realized that she was falling towards the ground. She barely noticed when Loue caught her, calling her name concerned. She couldn't focus on anything. All she could see was blurs, as darkness started to overcome her.

_Loue…_

Then all was engulfed in the darkness._

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_Liddell was in a world of candy. She was running with Loue-in bat form behind her- through a maze, avoiding chocolate being thrown at them by Gingerbread men. They saw an exit and dashed out of there. Both of them were panting from the excruciating run._

_"Liddell, look at that." Loue said, pointing (as much as a bat can) behind her._

_It was not hard to spot the huge Gingerbread man looming behind her._

_"Wow! He's huge" Liddell exclaimed, awed. She noticed something was off about it though, and saw that it looked sad, "Hey, Loue. Doesn't it look sad?"_

_"It seems that it's missing something. Look at the hand."_

_She looked at the hand. It looked as if it was supposed to be holding something._

_"What do you think is missing?" not waiting for a reply she continued on, "Let's go find it." With this she rushed off back into the maze, a tired bat Loue flapping behind her._

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Liddell awoke to warmth on her face. She was looking up at her ceiling. She was snuggling back into the blankets, getting ready to sleep again, when something dawned on her.

_Why was she here? How did she get back? Where's Loue?_

Sitting up in a flash, she searched around the room seeing it was just her present. She knew it was sometime in the day, because of the light coming in through the window. She was getting up from her bed, when the door opened to her room. Standing in the doorway was Kitty, looking frantic. Her fur on her cat ears and tail were prickly and she kept looking back and forth as if she was afraid of something popping out at her.

"Kitty, what's wrong?" Liddell asked concerned at the condition her roommate was in.

"Liddell!" she cried, running to the sitting blond and hugging her. She had tears in her eyes and was blubbering nonsense. "I-What-He…"

"Whoa! Whoa! Stop crying Kitty. I can't understand what you're saying." Liddell said, trying to calm Kitty. Using magic she made a tissue box appear, and took a few out handing them to Kitty, "Here, blow your nose." Kitty took them and blew her nose with a big honk. Her fur on her ears and tail went back to normal and she had a relaxed look on her face. "Now repeat what you said."

Kitty released Liddell looking down at her; she took in a deep breath, "WHO WAS **HE**!" she yelled, frazzling Liddell.

"Who was who?" Liddell asked regaining her composure.

"The vampire guy who dropped you off here in the middle of the night, that's who!"

_Was it Loue?!_

Liddell thought before asking Kitty, "Did he have silver hair and red eyes? And have a huge black cape on?"

"Yes." Kitty replied sitting beside Liddell on her bed with a huff, "It wasn't long after you left. I was wondering where you went; when all of a sudden that man appeared with you in his arms," she explained, remembering how the man had placed Liddell down on her bed, politely said sorry to Kitty and disappeared as fast as he appeared, "I was freaking out! Who was he, Liddell?"

_So it was Loue._

"Just a friend of mine, you don't need to worry about it."

"Yes, I do!" Kitty insisted, "It's scary when someone just appears in your room, **with** your roommate in their arms! So who is he?!"

"His name's Loue," Liddell sighed. She glanced toward the clock on her nightstand (it said 12:34pm) and asked, "Hey aren't we late for class?"

"What?" Kitty checked the clock, and jumped from the bed, leaping for her bag, "Your right! Liddell hurry up and get dressed!"

As ordered Liddell got dressed in her favourite outfit, a slim violet top (stopping just below her chest), a short three-parted skirt with red ribbons hanging on both sides, her knee-high dark purple and violet stripped socks (one with fashionable holes in it), and dark violet big shoed heels. Tying back her hair in two ponytails, she took one last look in the mirror. She gazed at the pendant that snugly fit her.

"Liddell, hurry up!" Kitty shouted from the door ready to leave.

"I'm coming." Liddell replied, placing the pendant in her top, she grabbed her bag and rushed with Kitty out the door.

_What happened last night? Why did I faint?_

Running, they could see the top of the school, its old Victorian roof sticking high in the sky in the sunlight. They ran across the lawn, Kitty carrying on about nonsense; gossip, weather and other topics. Liddell pretended to listen while her mind was on other thoughts, such as to why she had fainted and what the dream she had, had signified.

_Arrgh! Why can't I—_

Seeing something white from the corner of her eye, Liddell looked over to see what she had glimpsed. Immediately she froze, Kitty ran on without noticing Liddell was gone. What had shocked Liddell was the site of something, or someone she did not expect to see. A white rabbit stood only a meter away from Liddell, his bandaged ears twitching. The rabbit stared at her with his red tear make-up eyes, and she stared right back.

"What are **you** doing here?" Liddell asked surprised.

His hands rose and the White Rabbit took on the pose of an actor, singing, "Ahh, my eyes pain me so! Sweet tears of torment... The little girl has forgotten us... Our new Alice has forgotten! The tears of torment... The pain! We weep until we are remembered... Poor Alice... When will the day come for remembrance? Will our new Alice choose us? Will we have our tea party again, like we once had before?" With this the White Rabbit hoped away down a path into the woods.

"Hey, Wait!" shouted Liddell, following the White Rabbit. Liddell knew something was stirring inside of her, that this path was only the beginning of another.

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_**Haine-of-Winter: Again, I would like to say sorry!. **_

_** My Internet was not working for weeks, and I meant to work on the chapters on March Break, but I TOTALLY forgot. Sorry! TToTT**_

_** I hope this chapter was ok and I am hopeful that everyone will stick with me until the end.^-^**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Wishing I owned it...*Sigh* But sadly I do not own A Witch's Tale**_

_**As penance for not updating for a long time I am putting on two chapters at once. Enjoy! ^_^

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_Chapter 3_

Liddell rushed after the White Rabbit, she could only just see him. Around them the forest grew thicker and the path started to disappear. Liddell continued on, determined to catch up to the White Rabbit. She was almost upon him when he suddenly disappeared. Confused, Liddell slowed her pace and took a good look around her. Nothing around her was familiar. Deep down she knew what had happened... She was truly and utterly lost. Realizing this fact, Liddell started to get a little frightened. She did not know where she was and her only guide had vanished, so she called out to the White Rabbit, hoping he would answer, "White Rabbit! Where did you go?"

Continuing, she kept calling out; only to get no answer. It was getting darker and darker the more she traveled. She was tired and thirsty from calling out so much. She decided to sit down and catch her breath. Using her magic, she made a canteen of water appear and drank from it; gulping the water down greedily. She knew she could just teleported herself from the forest and to the school safely, but she wouldn't give up until her questions were answered, and for that she needed to find the White Rabbit. Sitting there Liddell gathered her thoughts,

_What did he mean by a "new Alice?" And what was he saying about a tea party?_

Slowly, a throbbing started in her head, and she had to place her hands on her temples to stop the throbbing headache from coming.

_Not again. Why now?_

In her mind she glimpsed a warm setting, a long table with many people smiling, and laughing. She was there as well as the White Rabbit, and...

_Loue..._

The throbbing slowly disappeared. Liddell stood up, and gazed at the stars shining brightly overhead.

_What was that scene? I wish I could remember clearly. Everyone seemed so happy there, even me..._

"Bonsoir, young miss"

Liddell gasped and spun around. She saw a tall man, wearing a black tailcoat, a cane in his hand; a large black top hat, leaned precariously, on his head a card stuck out of the belt around it.

"I did not mean to startle you, young miss." he laughed, bowing over and removing his hat. His wavy red hair eclipsed his face, "I thought you would have noticed me."

Liddell stared at wonder for a second, as recognition dawned on her, "Mad Hatter."

"Ahh, I am grateful that you remember me." Mad Hatter purred, his ruby eyes (with blue make-up surrounding them), twinkled in delight.

"Well you're lucky I remembered you." Liddell mumbled, "So, why are you here?"

Rising from his bow, the Mad Hatter took a step towards Liddell and replied, "I just noticed a little rabbit coming along the path and I had to say 'hi'."

"You said 'hi', so what do you want now?"

"I am wounded. You do not wish to see me?" he asked playfully. He took Liddell's hand and placed a soft kiss onto her hand, "You have grown into a beautiful young woman, young miss."

Blushing deeply, Liddell wrenched her hand from the Mad Hatter's grip, "If you've nothing else to say than I am leaving." She transported herself before the Mad Hatter could reply; completely forgetting about the White Rabbit.

"Au revoir, young miss." Mad Hatter laughed, before he too, disappeared.

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The day was done and Liddell was in the library atoning for skipping all of her classes that day. She was told, as punishment, that she had to reorganize all of the books in the library.

_Thank God Kitty is here._

Liddell thought, glancing at her friend who was nice of enough to stay with her and help. Not that Liddell would ever admit to needing help with something like this. Facing back to her task Liddell worked methodically as she placed one book after another in their proper places.

"Wahh!"

Liddell heard Kitty cry out followed by the sound of books falling. She looked over and saw Kitty in a heap of books. Trying to not laugh, Liddell used magic to place the books on their proper shelves again. Reaching down Liddell helped Kitty back up onto her feet.

"You better not laugh." Kitty said wiping dust of herself. With this Liddell could not help, but start to giggle at Kitty.

"Hey, how did you knock over the books anyway?"

"I was trying to grab one of the books up there," Kitty grumbled. Using magic, she guided a worn out ancient book off a high shelf, "This was what I wanted."

"What kind of book is it?" Liddell asked, curious to see.

"It's a story book about Queen Alice and the Eld Witch."

"Eld Witch..." whispered Liddell, her heart thumping in her ears.

"Yeah, it's about how Queen Alice sealed away the Eld Witch and saved the princesses," Kitty replied, cheerfully. She grabbed Liddell's hand and dragged her over to a couple of chairs. Seating herself and Liddell, Kitty flipped open the book, "Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes." Liddell answered determined to hear the tale.

Clearing her throat Kitty read the tale:

_1,000 years ago..._

_A tribe of powerful witches_

_lived beneath our world._

_They used potent and_

_incredibly dangerous rune magic._

_One day, the witches invaded_

_the surface world._

_When all seemed lost,_

_the mystical Alice appeared._

_She used the witches' own_

_rune magic against them and_

_sealed them away for good._

_Rumor has it the witch leader_

_still lurks beneath the land..._

_Waiting for her chance to_

_return to power once again._

_Now...the forbidden magic is_

_a legend that lies only in dusty_

_books and quiet whispers.

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_**Haine-of-Winter: I had a lot fun writing this chapter. I was between introducing the March Hare and Door Mouse, or introducing the Mad Hatter. Mad Hatter won out. **_

_** I'm sorry if the characters seem a little OCish, especially the Mad Hatter. I always imaging him as a sort of "mysterious seduction," kind of person (if that even makes sense).**_

_** Well I hope to update soon. See everyone soon!x **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: Me don't own A Witch's Tale**_

_**I haven't updated in a while, sorry about that *bows*. I am happy that you are all patient with me. Well, anyway on to the chapter...

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_Chapter 4_

_They had no clue as to how to open the next gate, since Hansel had not opened or hinted where to go next. Liddell and Loue were pondering about what to do next when **it **appeared before them as a tiny globe of light._

_"...?"_

_"It's a ghost." Loue explained to Liddell's shocked expression._

_The globe expanded, filling the room with a blinding light. Liddell and Loue had to cover their eyes until the light had died down. What now floated in front of them was the ethereal body of a girl with fairy wings on her back. Her brunette braided hair came from the back to encircle her neck and lay over her shoulder to rest in front of her. The green-white dress she wore flapped in a non-existent wind. Liddell was captivated by the site of this woman and strangely enough, Liddell felt that this ghost looked familiar to her._

_"Angry people. The world is filled with anger." The ghost stated in a bitter tone._

_"What's a ghost want with me?" Liddell asked curious as to why this ghost would appear to them._

_"We were friends once. We watched the moon together. Don't destroy the forest. Don't kill us! Please don't do it again!" she cried, tears escaping her eyes in misery._

_"What's going on?"_

_"Your friend and mine... Please stop her. You have to stop her!"_

_"Huh? Is... Is she talking to us?" Liddell asked perplexed._

_"Friends beyond the bounds of reality." The ghost slowly disappeared, leaving behind words of sadness._

_"...I'm not sure why, but I feel terrible. Why is that?" Liddell murmured to herself._

_The great never realize...When they trample all over the weak. Loue thought, reminding himself of the past._

_"..."_

_"What's wrong?"_

_"That door bugs me." Liddell said pointing to a green door. The door flashed a light and opened to reveal an entrance to a new kingdom._

_"Florin, the land of plants. Looks like the door's open." Loue stated._

_Liddell grinned and walked over to the open gate, "It must be waiting for me. Loue, let's get going!"

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Liddell's eyes slowly opened to reveal that she was still in the library.

_I must have fallen asleep__, _she thought as she looked around the library. It was dark in the library, except for the few candles that stayed lit by magic; _everything seems to take on a shadow at night_. Liddell examined the room interested in how the library looked different at night. Unlike in the day, you couldn't see the highest shelves because of the dark and the candles gave an eerie glow to the shelves near them, giving the impression that anything could jump out of the shadows at any moment. A shiver ran down Liddell's back at the thought.

"I should probably get going…" she murmured getting up from her seat.

As she stood something slipped off her lap and gently floated to the floor. Liddell picked it up and brought it closer to a candle to see what it was. She gasped at what she saw. It was a blossom, a little pink blossom. Liddell knew where the blossom came from; it was from one of the many cherry blossom trees in Florin, the kingdom of plants.

"How'd this get here?"

Liddell suddenly froze. She thought she heard a tapping sound come from behind her, like a foot step. She was starting to think it was her imagination when she heard it again, and this time she was definitely sure it was feet, walking. Walking…In her direction!

Liddell scanned the area she was in for someplace to hide. Seeing the chair as the best option, she had just enough time to jump behind it before the person came around the corner. From where she was, Liddell couldn't see the person too clearly because of the dark. She peeked a little farther around the chair, trying to get a better look at the person.

_Kitty? What's she doing here?_

Kitty was standing by the bookshelf, which Liddell had been just standing in front of, examining the shelf for something. Kitty stopped tracing her fingers across the bounds and took a book from the shelf, and started flipping through the pages. She stopped at one of the pages and grabbed something from around her wrist. Placing it beside the book she looked between the two, as if seeing if they matched. A smile graced her lips as she placed the object back on her wrist and put back the book.

It was so quiet that Liddell almost didn't hear her say the words, "Finally…It is time…"

Liddell waited until she couldn't hear any footsteps anymore before getting up. She walked over to the shelf where Kitty was and picked up the book that Kitty had been looking at. The cover was worn out brown leather with an intricate golden pattern on the front of the cover. There was no title to the book, none that Liddell could see. She flipped open the book, only to see that all the pages were blank. Surprised Liddell, kept flipping the book in different directions trying to see if there was anything written on it at all. Nothing, at all showed. Giving up, Liddell placed the book back on the shelf and started to walk out of the library.

_What was Kitty doing here at this time of night? Was that a bracelet she had on her wrist? I didn't know she wore one. And what did she mean by 'it is time'?_

Liddell shook her head. She couldn't think about all this right now. Her mind was going to explode with all the questions going through her mind. Raising her hand she opened her hand revealing the blossom from earlier. She knew one thing for sure she needed to get to Florin, and soon. The only problem with that was on how to get there…

_Duh! Stupid Liddell! The Gate Room that's how I'm going to get there!_

Liddell mentally slapped herself as she remembered about the room that held all the gates to the all the kingdoms, the Gate Room. Problem was that she just had to figure out how to get there, the only time she ever went there was when Loue took her.

"Then I'll just have to go back to the castle and get Loue to come with me to Florin!" she declared, determined to get to Florin.

She pushed open the doors and felt the cool night grace her skin. _Tomorrow I'm going_, she decided heading to the dorms. Even if she was going to get an earful from the teachers, she didn't care. She knew that she had to go and that was that.

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A figure watched Liddell walk away from the library, golden eyes following her silently. The figure's wrist shimmered as the light of the moon reflected off of the bracelet around its wrist. The obsidian transparent frame glinting dark, the beautiful rose gem shining a brilliance of blue.

"Will you be the one to stop it?" the shadow said before disappearing into the light of the moon.

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_**Haine-of-Winter: Hey everyone! XD This is a chapter I had been planning for a while, but just couldn't get to it. (Haha! I am a procrastinator after all..) **_

_** Hopefully this chapter satisfied your thirsts! I'll come up with another chapter soon. Very soon…**_

_** Anyway! Thank you to everyone who read this chapter I am very grateful for your support. See you soon! XD**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: D-O-N-'-T O-W-N A W-I-T-C-H-'-S T-A-L-E!**_

_** How long does someone have to write a disclaimer before it's clear that we don't own it! I'm running out of fun things to say in them!*pout* ~.~

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_Chapter 5_

"Ow…That hurt!" Liddell cried rubbing her head, "How did I wind up here?"

The hole she had falling through had somehow brought her to where she had wanted to go…The Gate Room. Everything was the same as it was the last time she had been there. The gates were all sealed except for the entrance to Shadow Town, and the gate leading to the Kingdom of Florin.

Liddell sat up, looking up at the ceiling. There were no holes in it, none that she could see. So how did she end up falling into the Gate Room?

Liddell thought back on how she had been leaving the library…

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_Liddell had been walking back to the dorms thinking of all her plans for tomorrow, when she heard someone singing…_

_"O, dear…I will be late…" Liddell knew that sing-song voice. Immediately she turned towards the source and caught a glimpse of white moving in the bush. Quickly, Liddell redirected her course to follow the White Rabbit, speeding up to keep from losing him. "O, dear…Late…I will be very late…"_

_Liddell noticed that the White Rabbit had increased his speed, so she ran faster to keep up. It was hard for her to keep him in her site since she kept on getting caught onto branches, and he seemed to be increasing his pace by the minute. She was about to call out to him to slow down when he suddenly vanished. Liddell stopped and whirled around looking for any signs of the White Rabbit, but couldn't find him anywhere. It was almost like he vanished into thin air._

_"Hey, rabbit! Where'd you go?" Liddell called out._

_Silence filled the air as she waited for some kind of sign that he was still around. Thinking that she lost him, Liddell was going to teleport back to the dorms when she heard, "Late…Tea party…Alice…"_

_"Haha! I found you!" Liddell shouted triumphantly as she ran into the direction of the voice._

_What she didn't expect though, was that her feet weren't on the ground anymore, and that she was falling down a deep dark hole.

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_Oh, right. That's what happened._

Liddell stood up and examined all the gate doors. None of them would open, just like she thought. The only gates that would open were the Shadow Town gate, which was open all the time, and the one unsealed gate to Florin. Liddell stood in front of the door staring at the cherry blossom that she had, miraculously, on her. Placing the petal in a pocket she looked up at the gate with a determined grin on her face.

"Forget about tomorrow! I'll just go tonight!" she declared as she reached out to open the gate. The door shone revealing the doorway to Florin, stepping through Liddell entered into Florin; excitement plastered on her face. This was her path, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

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_**Haine-of-Winter: See I said it would be soon and it was! How about that? A new record for me!v**_

_** I planned this chapter to be short. Sorry for anyone who was expecting a longer chapter. I still haven't played past Florin so I wanted to get that done before I write the next**_

_** chapter. So there might be a little of a wait. Sorry for the cliff hanger!v**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: NIS AMERICA owns A Witch's Tale. Sadly I do not own it.**_

_**I was so excited to write this chapter because I wanted Florin to be in my story as fast as possible. In the game I just got to the kingdom of Oceria and I kind of wanted to strangle the first area. I couldn't find the path down, for the longest time and was about to turn off the game when I happily found it.^-^ The painting room in Florin was very confusing as well but I eventually figured out the pattern. In this chapter Loue is finally reappearing again. It's been awhile since I mentioned him and I totally feel bad about that. Next chapter, away!^o^

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_Chapter 6_

Stepping through the gate Liddell glimpsed the beautiful kingdom of nature, Florin. The trees waved in the wind, falling leaves dancing. Beautiful cherry blossom trees casted an eerie light in the dark of the night. Walking, Liddell watched her surroundings as she crossed a wooden bridge, the many lanterns illuminating her path. She came to an islet that split off in five directions, stopping to figure out where she would go next. Only little remained of her memory in Florin, and she didn't want to get lost while searching for what she came there for. A feeling told her to take the west-north bridge, so she took that path having nothing else to lead her. She ended up on a long path that was surrounded on both sides by Buddha statues. Noticing that one of the statues was blue instead of red (like the rest); she went up to it and touched it; a puff of smoke appearing. From the smoke a fox was revealed, saying quickly that Liddell found him so he would let her by, before disappearing in another puff of smoke.

_That must have been the trickster fox_, she thought distractedly, recalling what another fox had told her earlier about a trickster. Liddell continued through the space left by the fox and walked on a small trail, only to abruptly freeze and gasp at the site in front of her.

The scenery had shifted from a cluster of paths with many trees and rivers to a small clearing of blue flowers. They swayed in the gentle breeze, as if waving to her. Liddell stepped forward into the garden of blue radiance, and kneeled on the ground, plucking a flower. She held it in her hand gently, admiring the beauty of something so insignificant.

"Bellflower..." she whispered, the name escaping her lips before she had even realized it. The name of the flower brought forth a forgotten memory of two lovers she had met a long time ago...

* * *

_Liddell and Loue-in bat form, stood in front of a grave. They were in a graveyard, crimson flowers covering the yard and graves. In front of them floated the soul of a dead woman named Ohana. Ohana would not pass on to the next life because she thought her boyfriend, Taro, was still angry at her. In truth he wasn't angry at all, and had requested Liddell and Loue to get a bellflower for the dead woman, giving her proof of his forgiveness. Liddell now presented the flower to the woman. Ohana gazed at the flower with hope and asked, "This flower...?"_

_"It's from your boyfriend." Liddell answered._

_The ghost took the flower from Liddell's hand and cradled the flower to her chest. Happiness entered her eyes, when she said, "A bellflower...He's not angry, then."_

_Ohana disappeared, a content smile on her face. Liddell sighed and turned to Loue, "So are we done here?"_

_"Let's go back to his grave."_

_They quickly headed toward the White Graveyard, where white flowers bloomed all over. When they arrived at the grave of Taro all that remained was a parchment of paper with a row of numbers on it._

_"It says 0127...What's this number mean?"Liddell asked a quizzical look on her face._

_"Maybe it's a reward?"Loue shrugged (as much as a bat could), "You might need it later."_

_"So some dumb flower can pass on a message like that?"_

_"The bellflower represents unwavering love."_

_"Eugh! Makes me sick!" Liddell sneered in disgust, "That ghost is so full of himself!" She turned and they left the graveyard behind, the two lovers reunited at last._

* * *

Liddell giggled at the memory. At the time she had thought the romantic meaning of the flower gross. But now...She thought of it for what it was, a romantic story of two lovers. A picture of Loue flashed in her mind, and she frantically pushed it away with a quick shake of her head. A light blush covered her face.

_What am I thinking?_

To keep her mind off Loue, Liddell let her mind roam her memories of her time in Florin before. She remembered a large sakura tree and the Mad Hatter telling her that there were dead bodies underneath it. Thinking of the Mad Hatter made her remember the first encounter she had with the March Hare and Dormouse. They had been rude to her from the start, calling her a 'disaster girl' and a 'disappointment.' Liddell clenched her fist, crushing the flower in her hand, at the annoying encounter with those two. Out of all the weird characters she had met, those two were the ones who angered her the most.

Dropping the poor crushed flower on the ground, Liddell stood up wiping the dirt off her legs. Glancing around the field, Liddell noticed a pile of stones near the outline of trees that made up the border of the clearing. She felt as if she was drawn to the pile, as she slowly drifted towards it. In front of the pile she saw that the rocks formed a make shift grave of sorts. The rocks were piled from the largest (bottom), to smallest (top). It looked like a snowman, without the snow. Her hand drifted towards the pile of its own accord, stroking the stone.

She gasped as an explosion of pain burst in her head. Grabbing her head in her hands and bending over, she groaned as the pain ebbed into her very core..._

* * *

_

_Liddell was standing in a cave, a notebook was in her hands. Loue was beside her, flapping near her shoulder to get a view of the words in the book._

_"Is this an old notebook?" she flipped the page, squinting at the faded words, "It's faded and hard to read. Could it be someone's diary?"_

_She began reading the diary aloud the words slipping from her tongue;_

_A friend of mine gave me this cute notebook today._

_In her land, they use books like this all the time...To trap magic power in order to use it later._

_I'm going to use this as my diary from now on. My first friend from outside the kingdom._

_We'll be friends forever..._

_"Black ink has been spilled across the other pages." Liddell observed, as she diligently searched the book for more readable pages, "But...why? I hope I can read the rest of the diary someday."_

_The wonderment left her filled with curiosity when she left the cave with Loue. The memory of the book having a meaning to her life much later on..._

* * *

"**LIDDELL!**"

Snapped out of her reverie, Liddell groggily turned her head toward the source of the caller. Loue was there, running towards her with a frantic hurry. His panic filled eyes screamed a warning to her, and she was about to ask what was wrong, when some whip like object rammed into her side, lifting her across the field of flowers. She skidded to a stop, crying, her body filled with pain, bruises and bleeding cuts appearing on her skin from the skid. Barely conscious, Liddell could just make out the running shape of Loue. She slowly twisted herself on her back, looking at where she had been. What now stood there was a large dragon creature that was a light shade of purple. Its red eyes stared at her with bloodlust, as it slowly made its way towards her, the scales all over its body flashing from the moonlight. She had the unnerving sensation that this creature should not exist as it towered over her, ready to strike with its large tail once more.

Her eyes slipped closed as the strain of being thrown across the field and the throbbing pain in her head took over her being.

_What's happening?_, she thought as her mind slipped into a sweet oblivion._

* * *

_

_**Haine-of-Winter: I had an awesome time with this chapter and it might be the largest yet. I made it so she didn't remember much about Florin, since I saw that I was making her remember too much of what happened—when she shouldn't. My bad...XP**_

_** He appeared for a second, but I was glad to bring Loue back into the story. I felt bad that I hadn't mentioned him for a while and he's one of the main characters too!^o^**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: If I owned it the game would be all mine! Mwahaha! C(**_

_** I wanted to make the last chapter longer, but decide to split off there when I was going to get killed for being on the computer till 12:00am. So think of this chapter as chapter 6B.

* * *

**_

_Chapter 7_

_A little Liddell stood in the snowy streets of Lenore, a suitcase sitting on the snowy ground beside her. She clutched a black cat tauth doll to her chest, weeping, "Mommy where are you? I'm so cold…Wahh! Mommy!"_

_She sat there crying, until her tears dried up and she just lay there in the snow, completely drained._

_"…"_

_She stared at the snowflakes falling from the sky, wondering when her mom would come and get her. She didn't know why her mom had left her there, but it felt like ages since she last saw her mom._

_"…?"_

_Liddell felt a warm presence engulf her body, instantly melting away the cold. A light surrounded her, in a shape similar to a woman's. The warmth gave Liddell comfort, and she cried out in joy;_

_"It's so warm!"

* * *

_

Liddell slowly opened her eyes. She was staring at the ceiling of an unknown wooden building. She sat up immediately regretting the action when an immense pain filled her head. She clutched her head, waiting for the pain to subside. She felt a bandage wrapped around her head and noticed that she had several bandages covering her body. Looking around, she saw that she was in a small room-all made out of wood-and was sleeping on a fluffy futon.

_What happened?_

Her mind swirled with memories of the blue garden and of the large creature that had almost taken her life, _how did I end up here?_

"Liddell?"

Liddell turned her head and saw Loue standing in the doorway of the sliding door, a tray full of food in his hands. Coming quickly into the room, he placed the tray on a little table, and kneeled beside Liddell; embracing her in a hug, "Thank goodness, you're okay."

Liddell was squashed right against Loue's chest, a slight blush covering her cheeks. She remembered what she had thought in the garden and pulled out of Loue's embrace saying, "You're squishing me."

"Sorry about that," he replied laughing, "I'm just glad to see you're all right. I was really scared."

"You think something like that would kill me off so easily? Ha! Think again! I'm invincible, I am going to be the greatest witch ever, after all!" she said proudly.

"Right, right," Loue said patting her on the head, "For now let's get some food into the 'greatest witch' ever," he went over and grabbed the tray of food, placing it carefully on Liddell's lap, "Here eat."

Liddell gingerly picked up a spoon and ate as instructed. She gobbled down the food, only realizing now how famished she had been. Finishing off the food she placed down the spoon, letting Loue take the tray and place it back on the little table. When he came back she asked, "So what exactly happened to me? All I can remember is being attacked by this big purple thing…"

Loue smiled slightly, "We'll talk about that later. For now…" he reached over, and touched the lower bottom of her lip, "Let's make sure you don't have any more food on you." He removed a piece of rice from her face, and ate it, making Liddell blush slightly, "Liddell is something wrong? Your face is all red."

"N-Nothing's wrong." She stuttered, looking down into lap.

"Are you coming down with a fever?" he asked, placing his forehead against hers while feeling for her temperature, making Liddell blush even more than she was, "You feel a little hot."

"N-no I'm not," she said looking up, her face mere inches from Loue's. Her brain completely froze when she looked into his questioning red eyes, "I-I-"

Luckily a fox came in at that moment, saving Liddell from saying anything more, "Is the lady awake?"

"Yes, she is," Loue replied facing the doorway, "Tell Princess Kaguya that we will be there shortly."

With that the fox left, silently shutting the door behind it, Loue faced Liddell again and asked, "What were you going to say?"

"I was going to ask where we are," Liddell said, avoiding the question, "Are we at Kaguya's castle?"

"Yes."

"So how did I wind up here?"

"I'll let Princess Kaguya explain that to you," he got up and helped Liddell stand, grabbing her around the waist to keep her from falling, "Let's go to the throne room."

"I can get there on my own." She grumbled, while Loue laughed, walking with her to the door and out to the hall. They walked along the corridor, until they reached a door. Two foxes were standing guard; they opened the large wooden doors for the two. Loue and Liddell proceeded inside to enter into the throne room. They walked to the other end of the room where Kaguya stood up to greet them.

The young teenage princess had changed over the years and had grown into a beautiful young woman. She still wore the same kimono as the last time Liddell saw her; the green outer layer trimmed at the edge with layers of gold and red, and the blue under layer with triangle like patterns, made up the long skirt. Her hair was fashioned up with the upside down crescent moon ornament, and the choker she wore was the same red stringed choker with a jade stone in the center. Beside her sat her dragon guardian (smaller in size now then it had been when Liddell had fought it before); it stood protectively near her, sensing for any danger that could come to its master. Loue and Liddell stopped in front of the throne, and Loue released his grip on Liddell's waist.

Kaguya walked down the steps, stopping in front of her. She reached out her slim arms and embraced Liddell in a motherly hug, "I am so happy to see you are safe."

The gentle warmth from Kaguya spread into Liddell, and she relaxed in her arms, even hugging her back. Kaguya released Liddell and held her by the shoulders at arm's length, "You do remember who I am right?"

"Of course I do." Liddell laughed.

"Oh, good," Kaguya puffed, releasing Liddell's shoulders, "I thought you might not have remembered me, and thought I was a stranger."

"If I thought of you as a stranger I would have smacked you on the head for hugging me!"

"That's true," Kaguya giggled.

"Ahem. Princess Kaguya," Loue coughed, interrupting the girls' conversation, "Liddell wants to know how she got here."

"Oh, yeah, right. I was in the flower field before, so how did I wind up here?"

"A fox came telling me that you were being attacked by a creature," Kaguya replied, recalling on how she had gotten there and saw Liddell on the ground bleeding, "When I got there I used my dragon to attack the creature, before it could harm you some more. Unfortunately the creature escaped in the end."

"Oh, I see…"

What Liddell didn't know was that it was actually Loue who had rescued her from the creature, her dragon only helped a little bit. He also was the one who had carried her all the way back to the castle. She couldn't say any of this though because she had promised Loue that she wouldn't tell. She found it cute that he would want to keep it a secret though, and was keeping it a secret for her own amusement; well, until she found the right moment to tell Liddell anyway, "Do you remember what the creature that attacked you looked like?"

Liddell shivered at the memories of the huge purple dragon, "Yeah, I remember…" something still nagged at the back of her brain, and she added, "Though for some reason that looked familiar. It was like I had fought it before…"

"It's because you have defeated it before," Loue explained, "We fought it the time last we were in Florin. It had an ingredient for the castle's gate key."

* * *

_Liddell stood in the Thunder Tree, while Loue was flapping nearby. In front of her towered the large purple creature (known as the Carnival Beast), its red eyes holding the same bloodlust it had when she was attacked by it._

_It spoke in a slithery deep tone, saying, "Quite the eccentric guest we have here! Who might have invited you here, I wonder?"_

_"Look at you! Pretty classy, for a monster." Liddell laughed._

_"I'll devour you before you disturb our Thunder Lord!" it growled, poised to strike._

_"Great! Head first, please!" she joked, opening her rune book, "As if! You think I'd just **LET** you swallow me up?"_

_She had fought the Carnival beast and had received the Hourai Branch. The beast had died then…

* * *

_

"I remember now!" Liddell exclaimed, "But then…How is it alive? I killed it remember."

"That's the mystery of this situation," Kaguya said, "Somehow the beast was brought back to life through some kind of magic. Magic similar to yours Liddell…"

"You mean…Whoever revived the beast can use runes like me?"

"Took you long enough to figure it out! Congratulations!"

They all looked at the end of the hall where a young girl stood. She was younger than Liddell, probably around the age of fifteen. The girl leaned against the doorway of the room, her emerald eyes coldly appraising them.

"How did you get in here?" demanded Kaguya. Her dragon guardian flew to her side, a growl emitting from its mouth.

"Through the front door, silly," the girl giggled, leisurely walking into the room, "I had a little trouble, but that was easily taken care of," the girl brought her hand up to her face, and licked the blood that dripped off her fingertips.

Kaguya cringed at the site of her guards' blood on the unknown intruder's hands, "Who are you?"

The girl stopped midway into the throne room. She twirled, giggling, her long dark green hair and dark blue kimono top flowing with her. Her wooden sandals tapped on the floor when she stopped facing them again, her short skirt easily moving with her movements, "Don't you know it's rude not to introduce yourself first." She said in a tone a mother would use with a child, "You tell me your name first, and then I'll tell you mine."

"I am Princess Kaguya," Kaguya replied impatiently, "Now, tell me **who** are you?"

"Ah, so you're the Princess," the girl giggled, before saying, "My name's Tsuru. And I'm here to get rid of you."

* * *

_**Haine-of-Winter: I just had to add a cute scene with Liddell and Loue. Everyone thinks this is a LoueXLiddell fanfic, but actually it's wasn't supposed to be. But then I got the big idea of making it one (since everyone thought it was such), so here we are with a LoueXLiddell fanfic. I'll probably not mention their relationship that often since now I'm really getting into the depth of this fanfic's plot.**_

_** I'm not exactly sure if it was the Hourai Branch you get from the Carnival Beast, so sorry if I am wrong.**_

_**The name 'Tsuru' or also known as 'Tsurukusa' means vine in Japanese. Tsuru's personality literally wasn't planned for and I can say it came out when I was typing her very first words. Tsuru might become one of my favorite characters. I'm definitely keeping her in the story for a while. **_

_**Also I would like to thank ****Tear Droplet**** for reviewing on my fanfic. I love it how we are reading each other's fanfics. XP **_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: I own it! MWAHAHAHA! (JUST KIDDING! ^_^)**_

_**It's been awhile but I'm finally going to answer the question that everyone has been waiting for... Who is Tsuru? And why can she use runes like Liddell? All I can really say is that Galexia the Chao (thank you for your review!) was close in her guess. You'll just have to read to find out! XP

* * *

**_

_Chapter 8_

"What?" Liddell yelled in surprise at the girl's comment.

Tsuru sighed, "Do I have to repeat myself?" She pointed a slender finger at Kaguya, "I'm here to kill the princess of Florin, that's her."

"Why?" demanded Liddell.

"Why?" Tsuru repeated, looking skyward a finger on her chin, "Well...I was told to by..."

"By **who**?"

"No need to shout!" Tsuru said covering her ears in mock agony, "If you beat me I might just tell you."

"Fine, I'll beat you to a pulp and get you to tell me everything," Liddell said, holding her hand out to Loue, "Loue, the tome."

"Right." Loue replied, pulling the tome of runes from his coat, and handed it to Liddell.

"Ha! You think that silly book of runes will beat me!" Tsuru puffed in irritation. She held a hand to her mouth and yawned, "Don't think I'll be as easy to beat as the Eld Witch."

"You stay back Kaguya!" Liddell yelled over her shoulder, flipping the tome open, "Expa!"

A grey ball with cracked red lines all over it appeared before Tsuru, quickly exploding.

"Yes, I got her!" Liddell yelled triumphantly.

"Hehe, think again."

They all looked surprised when the cloud of dust from the explosion dispersed to reveal that the Carnival Beast now stood in front of Tsuru.

"This guy here will be your opponent," she said, taking the beast's head in her hands and stroking it's chin; a purr like sound emitting from its throat, "He was grateful to me for bringing it back to life, and so he works for me now." Releasing its head she looked at them and giggled, "Let's just say this is a 'test' to see how powerful you really are."

The Carnival Beast turned its attention to Liddell and advanced forward, its tail swishing on the floor. It stopped and towered over Liddell ready to fight. Its tail struck out, almost hitting Liddell if she had not ducked under it. Scrambling up Liddell flipped the tome open to another page casting the spell Frei on the beast's legs, freezing it to the spot.

"Try getting out of that. Now to finish it off-"

Liddell cut off when a force knocked her off her feet and sent her flying across the room. She hit the ground with a cry, and her vision filled with dark spots as she tried catching her breath.

"Liddell!" Loue yelled running over to Liddell and helped her sit up.

"Wha-Wha?"

"I wouldn't underestimate my beast it's more powerful than you think." Tsuru commented as the beast broke the ice on its legs and advanced toward Liddell and Loue.

Loue lifted Liddell up, and kept her from falling as they backed away from the advancing beast, "Liddell, you shouldn't be fighting in your condition. Your wounds aren't healed yet."

"What choice do we have? I'm the only one powerful enough to stop that thing."

"I-"

"We always have a choice," the beast stopped its advance as it looked over at Kaguya, who was walking towards it; her dragon in tow, "Let's see how this creature fairs against my guardian."

Suddenly the little dragon started to glow and grew in size until it was even bigger than the Carnival Beast. It barred its fangs, a low growl emitting from deep in its throat as the two large creatures circled each other. Quickly striking, the dragon bit the Carnival Beast's neck, a cry of pain sounding from the beast. It retaliated back, sending its tail into the dragon's side throwing it off of its neck. The wound from the bite oozed green blood as it flowed down its neck onto the floor.

"Good job," Kaguya praised as the dragon got into position to strike once again, "Now let us finish this."

"What?" Kaguya said, as her dragon was smacked by the beast's tail, flying back into the wall above the throne, "But, it shouldn't..."

"You think a little wound like that is going to stop my beast," Tsuru laughed, as she watched Kaguya's shocked face, "Carnival Beast, get rid of them."

"Wait!"

Everyone's attention focused onto Liddell as she walked away from Loue, towards the beast, "You have to go through me, first!"

"Liddell, your wounds!" called Loue, "You can't fight in your condition!"

"Don't worry!" Liddell replied, giving Loue a determined gaze, "If I'm correct, then this will be over in a jiff!"

"And if you're wrong?" Tsuru asked with a grin as she watched Liddell stop in front of her beast, "Then my beast gets to kill you!" The Carnival Beast's tail whipped out towards Liddell and she dropped to the ground avoiding the strike, "Get her my pet!" But, before the Carnival Beast could lash out again, it froze and cried out in sudden pain as flames erupted from the wound in its neck, "What?" It withered and danced around trying to put the flames out, as the flames grew brighter and hotter. It was soon engulfed completely as it screeched in agony and collapsed into a pile of fire.

"Supra." Liddell quickly said, putting the fire out. She looked towards Tsuru and continued with a grin, "How do you like that? I turned your big bad monster into ashes; now it's your turn."

Tsuru looked shocked as she watched Liddell walk closer to her, "How did you-"

"I figured it out from its wound," Liddell explained, coming closer to the girl, "I saw that the inside of the beast was made up of plants, not flesh."

"It was made of plants?" Loue asked surprised at this information.

"Yep, that's why it didn't get crippled when Kaguya's dragon bit half of its neck off," Liddell said glancing over at Kaguya, who was tending to her hurt guardian, "It was just a simple matter of using Volc on the wound, to make it burn to ashes," She stopped a few feet from Tsuru, who was looking down-her bangs covering her eyes-and continued, "Now it's your turn. I'll beat the crap out of you and get you to tell us everything you know."

Tsuru just continued staring at the floor as Liddell talked. Then she smirked a little before placing a hand on her face and throwing her head back laughing. Liddell, Loue, and Kaguya all looked at the girl with shocked expressions, at her laughing outburst. They continued to stare as her laugh turned into giggles.

"I didn't think you would actually beat my beast. But you know..." She said removing her hand, a smile plastered on her face. Her once emerald eyes, shone blood red as she gazed delightedly at Liddell, "It has been a while since I've felt **this** excited. I can't wait to fight you."

"Your eyes..." Liddell breathed, mesmerized by how they had changed colour suddenly.

"Oh, you mean these?" Tsuru asked, pointing at one of her eyes, "They turn red when I get **really** excited."

"Why?"

"Oh, come on!" she pouted, "Let's not talk about this right now!" a smile replaced her pout, and suddenly she was right in front of Liddell leaning up near her face, "Let's get started, shall we?"

Liddell stepped away from her as an object lashed out and cut her cheek. Tsuru was now holding in her left hand a thorn whip that she snapped against the floor, and advanced closer to Liddell. Liddell dodged the whip as it lashed out towards her and called, "Volc!"

Fire caught onto the whip and started to burn down the line towards Tsuru's hand. She dropped the whip before it could burn her, and summoned vines to cover her arms. She sent herself into the air with the vines and flipped herself over Liddell, landing right behind her. She sent her whips out and ensnared Liddell's arms, and jerked her up into the air and sent her flying.

"Liddell!" Loue yelled, as he ran and caught Liddell, before she hit the floor. They both slid and stopped in a crashed heap in front of Kaguya and the throne.

"Loue, Liddell!" Kaguya cried, running towards them. She knelt and helped the two out of the heaped mess and asked, "Are you both ok?"

"I'm ok." Loue replied, and turned to Liddell, "Liddell?"

"I think so." she said, wiping at the cut on her cheek, "But, that girl is going down!"

Liddell stood and almost tipped over, if Kaguya had not reached out and steadied her, "Liddell, you don't need to fight this alone."

"But-" she complained, and watched as Tsuru got closer with her vine whips.

"I want to help you." Kaguya stated, smiling gently down at Liddell, "We'll fight her, together. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right!" Liddell agreed, smiling at Kaguya. She turned her attention back to the advancing Tsuru and said, "Let's get her!"

Liddell opened the tome, and called, "Biota Abyss!"

The area surrounding Tsuru erupted into vines and started to ensnare the girl in her own magic. She fought and sent her vines against the ancient magic, but even her own runes were overwhelmed by Liddell's magic rune. The vines lifted a thrashing Tsuru into the air holding her there.

"Let me down! Let me down now!"

"Fine." Liddell stated releasing her magic and the vines receded back into the ground. Tsuru dropped onto the ground with a thump, and she gasped in pain as her body connected with the ground.

Kaguya called for guards and the girl was restrained by two tenku foxes. She was kneed on the ground and had to tilt her head fully up to look at Liddell, Kaguya, and Loue who were standing in front of her.

"Now you're going to answer our questions, seeing as how you lost." Liddell explained, staring into Tsuru's-now emerald-eyes, "How come you can use runes?"

Tsuru giggled before replying, "I was born with this power. My mother was the one who taught me how to use them."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, my mother." she giggled, "And I thought you would have figured this one out."

"Figured what out?"

"Who my mother is, silly," Tsuru grinned, continuing, "The Eld Witch. She's my mother."

* * *

_**Haine-of-Winter: Is anyone out there surprised? I said I was going to explain who Tsuru was and I did. I am going to bring in all the sister's sooner or later. I'm already planning on one of sister's personality. If anyone has played Tales of the Abyss they'll know whose personality it is (He's a sadist at times. XD I'm only giving this clue).**_

_** I just wanted to say sorry about my battle scenes. I'm not that good at writing them-I love reading them though! I hope that I have satisfied anyone's hunger for a chapter and I'll try to get the next chapter in as soon as possible. See you all next time! **_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: I don't own it. A Witch's Tale belongs to Nis America**_

_**I haven't been able to update for a while; sorry about that. I had trouble thinking about what would happen next. I haven't been able to update anything in a while, actually. I hope no one's mad about that. **__**School has begun once again...School...*sigh* I don't think I'll be able to update as often as I would want too. Anyway, I'll just get on to the story. Hope you like it~**_

* * *

_Chapter 9_

"The Eld Witch?" Liddell practically screamed the name of the terrible witch.

"There's really no need to shout," Tsuru sighed, annoyed, "It's not really that impossible to think about."

"But-How? I thought all the daughters of the Eld Witch had been sealed away."

"Hehe, that's a secret." Tsuru replied a cat like grin on her face, "Sis would kill me if I told you."

"You mean you all escaped?" Loue inquired, his crimson eyes glaring at the girl.

"You know you're cute when you're angry, Liddell." Tsuru commented ignoring Loue completely as her attention fell onto Liddell. With a quick movement vines appeared from her hands, lashing out at the two tenkus holding her down. Liddell took a step back as the girl leaned up to her face, and licked the wound on Liddell's cheek; a smirk held onto her lips as she pulled back to stare up into Liddell's face, "Let's play some other time, Liddell."

"You-!" Liddell swung out her fist at the girl, only to miss as the girl leapt away.

"Bye-bye for now, Liddell! We'll play again soon!" with that Tsuru was engulfed by vines, disappearing after they cleared.

"That-that-I'm going to beat her to a pulp next time I see her!" Liddell yelled, furiously rubbing a hand on her cheek.

"Liddell, stop that. You're only going to make the cut worse if you keep rubbing it like that." Loue commanded, grabbing hold of Liddell's hand.

"B-but-" Liddell tried retorting back, until she glimpsed at the calmness in Loue's eyes. The anger subsided when she gazed into those eyes, and she sighed in frustration, "...Fine..."

"Good," Loue said letting go of Liddell's hand, and quickly patted her on the head before he turned towards Kaguya-who was watching the two with intent eyes, "Princess, has anything strange happened lately in Florin that might explain how Tsuru escaped her seal?"

"Yes, something did happen recently," she replied, sitting down onto her throne with a puff, "A slight tremor was felt throughout Florin, but we thought nothing of it because it was small and had not caused any damage to the kingdom."

"That must have been the seal breaking..." Loue commented, a hand to his chin in thought.

"But how did they escape after all this time?" Liddell questioned, knowing full well that the seals on the daughters of the Eld Witch have been in place for over a 1000 years.

"That is a good question..."Loue replied thinking, "Someone else must have broken the seals. But who would do it?"

They were all silent as they thought of who would be powerful enough to break Alice's seals on the 6 daughters. "Arggh! I can't take this!" Liddell cried frustrated, "I don't' care who did it! All we need to do is defeat the daughters and beat the crap out of whoever released them!" Liddell turned on her heels to march out of the room, but ended up tipping over as she suddenly felt dizzy, "What?"

"Liddell!" Loue cried out. He caught her as she fell forward and held her close as he examined her; his face full of concern, "Liddell, are you alright?"

"I'm alright, just a little dizzy." She replied with a weak grin. She tried standing up again only to fall back into Loue's arms after another dizzy spell, "Or maybe not."

"Liddell you need to rest your wounds still haven't healed yet."

"I don't need any advice. I can take care of myself..." Liddell grumbled in response.

"Liddell..."

"You should listen to Loue in this matter, Liddell." Kaguya suggested from her throne, "It would be better for all of us if you were in your best form to fight the Eld Witch's daughters."

Liddell thought for a moment, then sighed in defeat, "Fine, I'll rest..._But_ only because Kaguya said so."

_I guess that's good enough_, Loue thought as he effortlessly lifted Liddell bridal style.

"H-hey! P-put me down!" Liddell cried, her face becoming a dark crimson.

"Nope, you need to rest and I'm not letting you walk in the condition you're in." Loue replied, heading towards the exit.

"Put me down!" Liddell kept on crying, while hitting Loue on the head with a fist.

"Oww!" was all that could be heard as the two exited the throne room. Leaving Kaguya to laugh freely as she was holding it back when they were present, "They'll never change will they?" wiping tears from the corner of her eyes she turned to the guards who had been holding down Tsuru, "You two were not hurt, were you?"

"No, Princess!" they replied in unison.

"That's good," Kaguya sighed in relief. Turning towards her dragon (who had shrunk once again) she picked up the creature and cradled it in her arms, "Now if you'll excuse me. I am going to retire to my room to sleep."

"Yes, Princess." they replied bowing in unison, as Kaguya walked past them.

Kaguya walked past the throne, towards a small door. When she reached the door, she slid it open, but paused and looked at the guards, "Oh, one more thing. Are the preparations done for the festival yet?"

"Yes princess, all of the preparations are done for the festival." the tenkus answered.

"Good. Now, I have a favour to ask of you two. Listen closely..."

* * *

A few days passed as Liddell's strength returned. She had a couple of bruises but nothing that couldn't heal over time. Right at the moment, Liddell was standing in Kaguya's room a confused expression on her face.

"This is what you called me here for?" she questioned looking at the object hanging from Kaguya's hands.

"Yes, I thought it would be nice for you to relax and celebrate the Tsukimi festival in Florin before you go. I had this made for you for the occasion." Kaguya replied matter-of-factly.

"Okay, I get the festival part, but do I really have to wear that?" Liddell asked, pointing at the object.

"What is wrong with the yukata?" Kaguya questioned, examining the material in her hands. The yukata was a dark violet and had patterns of golden butterflies dancing across it, "Does it not suit your tastes?"

"No, it's not that..."Liddell answered, scratching the back of her head, "It's kind of embarrassing. I've never worn a yukata before."

"You don't need to be embarrassed Liddell. Here, I'll even help you put it on." Kaguya said coming forward; the cloth outstretched, "Now get undressed."

"Nuh-uh!" Liddell said backing away from the princess, "I can do it myself. You don't need to help me!"

"No, you will need my help putting this on. Don't be so embarrassed Liddell all I'm doing is going to help you dress."

"No way! I'm out of here!" Liddell turned to leave but noticed that her escape route was blocked by three female tenku foxes, "Get out of my way."

"Sorry we can't do that. It's the Princess' orders that we help you get ready for the festival." One of them replied with a wide grin on her muzzle.

_Help!_ was Liddell's last thought as they all pounced on her.

* * *

Loue stood outside the castle under a sakura tree, gazing up at the full moon. In his hands were a small stone dish and a bottle that a tenku had given him for the Tsukimi.

_The moon looks so bright tonight..._

He thought, taking a sip from the dish. He liked it when the moon was bright. That's why he enjoyed the Tsukimi, a festival where it was about the day the moon shone brightest. The silence felt calming as he relaxed against the tree he was under.

_I wonder what Princess Kaguya wanted Liddell for._

Earlier, when Liddell had been summoned by Kaguya, Loue had questioned why the Princess needed to see Liddell. He was only told that "he would see later" and was given the sake and dish and was forced to wait for Liddell outside.

"Loue..."

His head turned and he almost gaped at the sight of Liddell. She was wearing the violet yukata, a gold obi tied into a bow to keep it together. Her blond hair was done up into a bun on one side, some strands of hair were framing her face, "So how do I look?"

"You look beautiful." Loue answered a smile on his face.

"Well, thank Kaguya for that," she said, coming to stand beside Loue, "She's the one who forced me into this."

"That's not very nice, Liddell." Loue chided looking at the girl, "Princess Kaguya probably worked very hard to make that yukata for you."

"Humph, it's not like I asked her to do it."

"Come on Liddell; be a little honest for once."

"...Okay, I'm a _little_ grateful to her for making me this yukata." Liddell admitted, looking away from Loue.

"There you go. Now that wasn't so hard now was it?" he commented placing down the bottle of sake on the ground and used that hand to pat Liddell on the head.

"Stop doing that!" she immediately yelled, hitting Loue on the head.

"Oww!" he cried, holding his wounded noggin.

"I told you already that I'm not a kid! Stop patting me on the head like one!"

"But you didn't say anything about it earlier!"

"You're right..." she said remembering about what he did after they had seen each other again. Also how he had patted her head in the throne room, "Here's two more hits for those times too!"

"Ow! Ow!" he cried out as Liddell hit him two more times on the head. Reaching down Loue grabbed the sake bottle and held it out to her in nervousness, "I'm sorry! Here have a drink!"

Staring at the bottle and dish in Loue's outstretched hands she decided it would be better to have a sip than continue her assault on Loue. Grabbing the bottle and dish from him, Liddell poured herself some and took a sip, "This tastes good!"

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? It's sake that is only found in the kingdom of Florin on Tsukimi," Loue explained. He was silent as he watched Liddell eagerly take more sips from the dish, then commented, "...Umm, don't you think you're drinking a little too much, Liddell?"

"Hmm?" Liddell hummed, taking a gulp straight from the bottle, "Nah! I've drunk much more than this and haven't gotten drunk on it before!"

"Yes, well Florin's sake is very strong and I still advise you not to drink so much of it."

"Oh, relax! Come on this is a festival Loue, live a little!" she commented sitting down on the grass beneath the tree, her gaze towards the moon, "sit down and enjoy the view!"

"Fine..." he sighed sitting down beside her. He gazed up at the moon as Liddell kept on chatting away, _So much for the peace and quiet..._

* * *

Kaguya strolled out towards the sakura trees where they had sent Liddell and Loue to go to. She was smiling on the way, thinking about what the two might be talking about at that moment. When she got there she stopped as she gazed at the scene before her.

Under a large sakura were Loue and Liddell. They were both sitting, and Liddell was sleeping quietly on Loue's shoulder. He was still gazing at the moon when he saw Kaguya approach, "Good evening, Princess."

"Good evening, Loue," she whispered, as not to wake Liddell, "I see Liddell fell asleep."

"Yeah, she seemed tired, anyways. The whole bottle of sake she drank probably had something to do with it as well," he said, brandishing the empty bottle, "She wouldn't stop gulping it down and soon fell asleep."

"Well, that's Liddell for you." Kaguya laughed, keeping it quiet as to not wake the girl, "I'll be going now, I just wanted to check on the two of you before going to bed."

"Here I'll walk with you," he said standing while gently picking up Liddell in his arms, "It's probably about time that we head back anyways. It's not like Liddell can moon watch while asleep."

"I guess you're right," Kaguya commented as they headed for the castle, "Let us hope that Liddell does not wake up on the way, or we will have one cranky witch to deal with."

"Yeah..." Loue replied, shifting Liddell carefully in his arms fearing to wake the girl.

The two walked away from the sakura trees and towards the castle, whispering to each other as Liddell slept soundly in Loue's arms.

"God, my head hurts..." Liddell groaned cupping a hand to her throbbing head.

"I told you not to drink too much." Loue remarked, earning a glare from Liddell.

"Well I didn't think I'd get such a hangover from it." Liddell retorted back, angry that the vampire had to be right.

"You brought this upon yourself Liddell." he stated, earning himself another glare.

"Fine, whatever..." Liddell grumbled, "So are we leaving or not?"

They were standing before the exit of Florin. The next world awaited them and they had decided that the day after the festival would be the best day to go. Kaguya stood with them as she wanted to say goodbye to them at the exit instead of at the castle.

"In one moment Liddell," Kaguya responded. Moving towards Liddell she grasped the younger girl's hands into her own, and gazed at her with an intense gaze, "Be careful on your journey Liddell. Do not underestimate your opponents, and use my sigil and doll wisely. You will need all the help you can get."

"I will." Liddell curtly replied, nodding her head. Turning she gave one last smile to the princess before rushing through the exit, "See you soon, Kaguya!"

"Liddell, wait up!" Loue called following her through the exit.

Kaguya watched the two disappear. She turned her back on the gate and proceeded to head back to the castle, her dragon following her. However, she paused a few steps away, and turned back to the exit of Florin, whispering, "I wish you the best of luck..." before she turned back to the castle continuing on back to it.

* * *

_**Haine-of-Winter: I know nothing really happened. I just wanted to add this chapter in for the hell of it before I bring in the next stop on Liddell's journey. Poor Liddell got a hangover. I thought it would be cute to have her get drunk and end up having to be carried by him in the same chapter twice. **__**I'm not saying that Liddell is an alcoholic or anything, but she is of age, so it's okay if she drinks.**_

_**The journey has officially begun!XD Liddell will now start her epic quest to stop the Eld Witch's daughters while remembering what happened before at the same time. Can she do it? Of course she can!XD Next world that they will be going to is...*epic pause* Al'Sahra!3 Why Al'Sahra you may ask? Well that's a secret.*insert creepy laughter here* **_

_**Reviews and comments of any sorts are welcomed. So please review if you read! They help me with getting more chapters out Review and you shall recive!X3**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own it! If I did I wouldn't be here, now would I?**_

_**Wow! It's finally time to get to the double digits. Chapter 10 is finally here! **__** Just because it's chapter 10, I'll make this chapter EXTRA long. For everyone's satisfaction, so here you go! XD An EXTRA very long chapter! Enjoy! XD

* * *

**_

_Chapter 10_

"Ahhh! Finally we're back!" Liddell cried as she stepped out of the portal, Loue right behind her, "Man, my head's killing me."

"That's your own fault Liddell." Loue pointed out once again.

"You don't have to remind me." Liddell grumbled to herself, looking around the gate room. She saw that another door was open, "Guess that's where we're going next."

"Al'Sahra, the desert kingdom."

"Desert, huh? Sounds hot." Liddell commented.

"What?" Liddell asked when she noticed the strange look that Loue was giving her, "What is something on my face?"

"No, it's just that-" Loue sighed, disappointment evident, "I thought that you would have remembered by now..."

"Remembered what?"

Shaking his head in response, Loue turned his back to Liddell and walked over to the bat monument that led to Shadow Town.

"Hey, what were going to say?" Liddell called as she followed Loue into Shadow Town. It was the same as Liddell remembered it. A dark little eerie town, with a mountain of pumpkins in a fountain as a center piece, identical shadow people walked the town not speaking to one another, just hanging around like ghosts. Liddell ignored them as she chased after Loue who was heading towards the castle, "Wait up!"

Loue momentarily stopped, letting Liddell catch up to him. He resumed his even pace matching Liddell's shorter ones, so as to not get ahead of her, "Come on! Answer the question. What did you mean by what you said?"

"There's no point in telling you right now," Loue stated glancing down at the girl beside him, "It would hurt you to make you remember. Just like last time..."

"Last time?" Liddell pondered for a minute, until her mouth formed an "o" in understanding, "You mean the time when I fainted?"

"Yes." Loue replied, and Liddell noticed that his lips were in a thin line, as if he were holding something back, "It scared me when you fainted like that. I am not letting that happen again."

"Loue, lighten up. I doubt that's going to happen every single time I remember something." Liddell said reassuringly, a huge grin on her face.

"You're probably right."

"Of course I'm right!" Liddell pumped her fist in the air, in determination, "Watch out Al'Sahra! Here I come!" Liddell winced in pain as her head throbbed from the hangover and she added to her statement, more weakly, "After I get some sleep, that is."

"Like I said-" Loue laughed, barely escaping a fist to his head. He continued laughing as he dodged the next few fists on the way to the castle.

"Hold still so I can hit you!" Liddell growled angrily, swiping at Loue's laughing face.

"No thank you. I don't really enjoy being hit on the head." Loue replied stepping into the castle quickly as Liddell made another swipe for his face.

"Arggh!" Liddell yelled as Loue kept on retreating backward, just out of her reach, "Stand still!"

"You won't hit me that way, but you can try." Loue teased, dodging another punch. He was amused to see Liddell riled up, just like when she was younger.

"Hold-" Liddell suddenly stopped her rant when she abruptly clutched her head in pain.

"Liddell!" Loue jogged over to the girl in worry, his crimson eyes full of concern, "Are you ok? Liddell?"

_Smack!_

"Ow!" Loue cried in pain as Liddell's fist made contact with his head.

"That's what you get for making fun of me!" Liddell smirked triumphantly as she relentlessly hit Loue on the head.

"Excuse me?"

Liddell and Loue froze at the new voice. They both turned to the source and Liddell could only gape at who was standing there. In the big hallway not too far from them was Kitty. Liddell was shocked to see her roommate in the castle, "Kitty? How...?"

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked her head tilted in curiosity.

"No," Liddell replied quickly, reassuring her friend, "Why and how did you get here, though?"

"I got worried when you didn't show up at school for the last couple of days." Kitty explained walking over to her friend, "I asked Babayaga where you might be and she said you would be at this castle. She transported me here so I could bring you some things."

"Things?" Liddell questioned.

"Yeah. I brought you some clothes and some of your books to study, while you're doing... What is it you are doing?" Kitty asked as she handed Liddell a knapsack.

"Oh, you know the usual. Saving kingdoms from evil witches that's all." Liddell said calmly while searching through the bag.

"Kingdoms? Evil Withes?"

"Liddell, I think it would be better if you explained thoroughly to your friend what is going on." Loue suggested noticing the confused look on Kitty's face.

"You're that man from before!" Kitty pointed, seeming to finally notice Loue's presence.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Kitty. Let me introduce myself, my name is Loue." Loue said with a small smile.

"It's nice to see you again too." Kitty bowed nervously in response.

"Aha!" Liddell suddenly cried.

Loue and Kitty stared at Liddell curiously as she stuck her hand down into the sack she had been looking through. Loue's face blanched at what the blond produced from the bag. There in Liddell's hand was her trusted pumpkin umbrella. Liddell smirked at Loue's expression and an evil glint twinkled in her eyes. She turned her gaze to Kitty and smiled happily, "I can't believe you remembered to bring me this. You're the best Kitty!"

"You're welcome." Kitty smiled back, unaware of the sudden evil lurking in the air, "I know how much you love that umbrella, so I packed it away just for you... Is something wrong, Loue? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Kitty commented noticing Loue's paler complexion.

"Don't mind him Kitty. He's just really happy to see you? Right, Loue?" Liddell smiled innocently at the vampire, hiding her evil smirk from Kitty.

"R-Right..."

"Now, let's go talk someplace more comfortable, 'kay?" Liddell suggested as she led Kitty down the hall, a gloomy Loue following behind them.

* * *

"... And that's how we got here." Liddell explained. She just finished filling Kitty in on the details of their plans and was comfortably relaxing in the armchair she had taken as her own. When Loue had first shown the library that was in the castle she could only stare wonderingly at the rows and rows of books that occupied the room. This library was definitely bigger than the one they had at the academy, and it probably had 1000 years worth of history in the volumes it contained. Surprisingly it felt pretty homey and the chairs that Loue had were really comfortable.

_He must come here a lot_, Liddell gazed up at Loue through her downcast eyelashes. He had decided to remain standing as Liddell told her tale to Kitty; leaning slightly on the side of Liddell's chair.

"So... you're telling me that you have to save the kingdoms from the Eld Witch and her daughters?" Liddell turned her attention back to the cat girl, nodding her head in response, "... Count me in!"

"What?" Liddell and Loue asked in unison, shocked by Kitty's declaration.

"I want to help. Can I please?" she begged, her eyes radiating cuteness.

"... Fine." Liddell sighed, giving up to Kitty's cute stare.

"Yay!" Kitty yelled, leaping delightedly from her chair, and hugging Liddell in a bear hug.

"Liddell..." Loue began a warning in his tone.

"It'll be okay. Kitty's a witch too, she'll be fine." Liddell reassured the vampire, as she pried herself from Kitty and stood stretching; a yawn escaping her mouth, "I think it's time that we all go to sleep."

Loue simply nodded and gestured the two girls to follow him out of the library, heading down the hall to the rooms they would be occupying while they stayed.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone home? Loue, wake up!"

Loue's eyes fluttered opened at the loud voice calling from close to him. Seeing Liddell's face looking down at him, Loue snapped straight up (almost bumping heads with Liddell) as he looked at her surprised, "Liddell? What is it? Did something happen?"

"Something happened all right!" Liddell exclaimed with a huff, her hands on her hips, "You wouldn't wake up. That's what happened!"

"Huh?"

"You heard me!" Liddell indignantly fumed, crossing her arms over her chest, "I've been trying to wake you up for the last 15 minutes. You sleep like a log!"

"Sorry. I like to sleep a lot. I can't help it. I'm a vampire after all." Loue pointed out getting out of his coffin and stretching, "I presume we are leaving now then?"

"Yep." Liddell jogged down the steps leading through the gate, Loue following after her, as she continued, "Kitty is already waiting for us at the Gate Room."

"Liddell, do you really think it's a smart idea?"

"What is?" Liddell questioned, turning to look at the vampire.

"Having Kitty come with us to the kingdoms. I know you said it would be all right, but..."

"Aw, come on, Loue! Kitty knows how to protect herself. Besides..." Liddell paused as they left the castle behind and entered Shadow Town, "I'll be there to kick any witch butt if they dare mess with Kitty. You can count on that!"

Loue smiled at Liddell's enthusiasm and they continued from Shadow Town to the Gate Room. It looked the same as they had left it, all the gates shut but for Florin and Al'Sahra's. In front of the latter gate was Kitty who was staring at the portal in wonder. Her ears twitched at the others approaching footsteps and she smiled at them as they stood beside her, "Isn't this exciting? I can't wait to see what Al'Sahra looks like!"

"It's probably all sand." Liddell said a memory of lots of sand flashing in her mind, "Lots and lots of sand..."

"Liddell?"

"What?"

"...Nothing" Kitty said as she stared at Liddell a little worried. It seemed that Liddell had been in a trance when she had talked about Al'Sahra, like she was remembering something.

"Let's get going!" Liddell cheered, snapping completely out of whatever trance she had been in, "Onwards, to Al'Sahra."

Kitty and Loue followed as Liddell stepped through the gate. After all the light died down after passing through, they were greeted with Liddell's description of the kingdom. Al'Sahra was indeed covered in sand; lots of it. They could barely see the outline of rocks and trees in the distance from where they were because of all the sand flying in the air.

"Man it's hot!" Liddell complained fanning herself. Turning to Loue she asked, "So where's the castle?"

"It's that way." Loue pointed towards the rocky outcrop against the blue sky, "We just have to head that way to get there and now if you'll excuse me." And with a sudden puff of smoke Loue turned into his small bat form and perched onto Liddell's shoulder, "This heat is a killer for vampires..." he commented before tiredly resting his small body under Liddell's hair, getting as much shade as possible.

"Poor Loue, I guess his body can't take the heat." Kitty commented as they trekked along the many sand dunes.

"Yeah..." Liddell whispered distractedly, her eyes focused on their destination. _The faster we get there, the faster Loue can get into the shade and off my shoulder._

Time seemed to slow as they walked and walked for what seemed like days, they were relieved when they finally came upon the rocks and trees that they had seen earlier. Walking around the large rocks they came to a part that had some trees leading to what had to be a castle.

There was a large brick wall surrounding the interior buildings which were tall buildings with round bulging parts on the top that pointed into slits at the very top. The castle shined an illuminating blue, showing off the many intricate patterns covering the buildings.

"Isn't it supposed to be underground?" Liddell murmured having a strange feeling that the castle usually was not found there.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked, looking over at Liddell as they entered the gate.

"Hmmm..." Liddell thought for a minute before shaking her head in dismissal, "Never mind. I don't know why I would think that. I just have this feeling..."

"Huh? We're here?" Loue unexpectedly voiced, from Liddell's shoulder, "I must have fallen asleep."

"Yeah, you did." Liddell grumbled, "Now that we're here, you can stop hitching a free ride." Liddell flicked Loue off her shoulder, and he flapped his wings quickly before transforming back into his human form, "Let's hurry up we have to warn Princess Lyra of what's coming."

"Princess Lyra?"

Liddell froze. The name just slipped off her tongue, like it was natural for her to know it. A face went with the name, a violet haired beauty. Liddell remembered her wearing a blue tank top gold trim along the outside, blue puffy pants to match. Over the pants was a tinier cloth that hung loosely and was a darker blue, trimmed and decorated with gold material and red droplets patterned along the inside. It had matched the necklace/cape that she was also wearing. A light veil covered her hair, and gold droplets hung from the front and lay against her forehead. Large earrings, hung from her ears, matching with the golden bracelets that lay on her arms. And her shoes were not really shoes but slippers that were a dark violet, matching the woman's hair.

A tiny smile lit up her face at the thought of this woman. Out of all the princess's her favourite, and most respected, was Lyra. She was the mature one of the group, and Liddell liked that. She was like the big sister Liddell never had.

"Liddell?"

Liddell snapped from her reminiscing and was surprised to see two identical faces of worry on Kitty and Loue as they stared at her in concern, "Yeah?"

"You were spacing out." Kitty pointed out, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm remembering something, that's all." Liddell blushed, not wanting all the attention on her; she turned away from them and continued walking farther into the castle.

Kitty and Loue looked at each other in confusion and they both shrugged their shoulders before following after Liddell. It didn't take them long to get where they wanted to be and they were standing in front of the throne room in no time.

"Lyra! Are you there?" Liddell called opening the door into the room.

At the other end of the room sat Lyra, Princess of Al'Sahra. She looked no different from the last time Liddell had seen her, just a little more mature in age and looks. The Princess looked surprised from the sudden interruption. It seemed that she had been in a heated discussion with her guardian, the genie of the lamp, the Fire Lord.

"We will discuss more about this later, you are dismissed." Lyra commanded, before turning her attention to them.

"Yes, Princess." The Fire Lord bowed before disappearing into his golden lamp.

"Liddell, Loue, welcome back." The Princess stood to greet her visitors. Her eyes traveled over the small group resting on Kitty, who hid shyly behind Liddell, "And who might this be?"

"This is Kitty, a friend of mine." Liddell stated stepping away from Kitty and pushing her towards where the Princess stood.

"I-It's nice to meet you." Kitty bowed shyly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Kitty. I am Princess Lyra. I welcome all of you to Al'Sahra, the desert oasis." Lyra greeted. Her smile turned to Liddell who smiled back, "It has been a while Liddell, it is nice to see you again."

"You too Lyra." Liddell replied, happily.

"And Loue..." Lyra began her purple eyes landing on Loue, "...How have you been?"

"Fine, Princess."

"That's good." Lyra said half-distracted, "Am I to believe that there is a purpose to your visit?"

"How did you know?" Liddell gaped, amazed by the woman's intuition.

"Strange things have been occurring all over Al'Sahra. I thought I might be correct to think that you would come to rectify those problems." Lyra explained sitting down on her throne.

"What sort of strange things?"

"Things have been disappearing all around Al'Sahra. Places, people, and objects; one by one, all disappearing without a trace."

"Disappearing? How?"

"That's just it. We cannot comprehend how all of this is happening." Lyra sighed, before continuing on, "First, it started with that earthquake. We thought nothing of it, until the first thing disappeared."

"An earthquake?"

"Yes, a small one." Lyra looked at the look that was on Liddell's face, showing that she knew more about the problem, "What is it? Do you know something?"

"Well..." Liddell explained to Lyra what had happened in Florin, and that the daughter of the Eld Witch, Tsuru, had escaped at the same time as the earthquake over there.

"You're telling me that you think that the daughter of the Eld Witch sealed here has broken free?" Lyra questioned breathlessly, not believing what she was hearing.

"I'm afraid so." Loue answered, gloomily.

"Um... If I may interrupt," Kitty suddenly spoke up, the first time since Lyra's greeting, "What was the first thing that disappeared in Al'Sahra?"

"Why would you need this knowledge?" Lyra questioned.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe it's because of the Eld Witch's daughter that things started to disappear. So maybe... the first thing that disappeared is probably connected to the seal, and-"

"And that the seal must be where the first thing disappeared!" Liddell cut Kitty off, finishing her thought, "That's brilliant! Good job, Kitty!"

"Hehe..." Kitty scratched the back of her head giggling shyly.

"If you are right then the seal would have to be under the monument..." Lyra murmured before picking up her guardian's lamp and calling forth the Fire Lord. Once he was out she commanded, "Take us to the Oasis Monument."

"Yes, Princess." He curtly bowed before a smoke surrounded them all and the world seemed to go purple for a second. When the smoke cleared they were not in the throne room anymore, but in a small cave.

A small pond rested at the far side of the cave surrounding a small outcrop of land. Small trees grew around the cave; clinging to the walls of the cavern.

"Follow me." Lyra said walking to the outcrop of land. They all followed and when she stopped they stopped, all looking curiously at what was behind her.

"A hole?" Liddell said looking down at the large hole that was oddly in a rectangle shape. There was something odd about it, the hole. It was too dark to be a shallow hole, and it shouldn't be that deep because then water from the pond would seep into it. So then why was it so dark?

"It looks deep..." Kitty voiced, as if reading Liddell's thoughts.

"How is that possible?" Loue enquired, curiously looking at the hole in front of them.

"That's the same thing that has been on my mind since things started to disappear." Lyra said her eyes glued onto the hole, "The grave of the first princess was here and now..."

"It's just a hole." Kitty filled in the rest of Lyra's thoughts.

"Yes."

"So, this was the first thing that disappeared?"

"Yes, it was."

"Hmm..." Loue paused in thought, "Liddell what do you think?" He questioned the blond who staring intently at the hole.

"..."

"Liddell?"

Liddell did not hear Loue call her. Her mind wandered elsewhere, her vision filled with the hole. For some odd reason she felt entranced by it, and she couldn't take her eyes off it. Without thinking, Liddell started moving closer to where the hole was; not hearing her name being called. She didn't even feel the hand wrapped around her arm trying to tug her back, as her feet kept dragging her forward.

"**Liddell!**"

Liddell's head snapped up at her name being yelled, her trance finally broken. But it was too late. Liddell's feet met no ground as she plummeted downward into the darkness.

* * *

"_How delightfully humorous!"_

_Liddell turned around. There behind her was the Cheshire Cat. The purple feline had its usual creepy grin, its tail swishing lazily back and forth._

"_Ah! Whaddya mean?"_

_The cat's grin seemed to spread wider as it lazily replied, "The princess and residents are all celebrating. The hero has come! But do they know the hero is a villain?"_

"_Are you talking about me?"_

"_Who, me?" The Cheshire Cat questioned, a paw pointed at himself._

"_Yeah, yeah. It's all my fault. I know! That's why I'm doing this! I'm going to go and fix it! You just watch!" Liddell hotly said, pointing a finger at the cat in declaration._

"_Mehehe..." and with that the Cheshire Cat disappeared in a puff of smoke._

_Liddell turned angrily and marched from the cave, whispering to herself, "Just don't say anything cat. I know already."

* * *

_

"Ow...My aching head." Liddell groaned, placing a hand on top of her head. Opening her eyes Liddell was met with the top of a cave. Rising slowly up she was surprised to see that she wasn't in the same cave from before but a different one. Lush greenery spread all across the walls while, what she thought was the little pond was actually a large lake.

"Liddell?"

Looking around Liddell, spotted a person at the entrance of the cave, and was glad to recognize Kitty as she came closer to Liddell, "Kitty?"

"Liddell!" Kitty cried before hurtfully crushing Liddell in a hug, "I was so worried!"

"Okay, okay. I'm okay Kitty." Liddell reassured the girl, patting her on the head, "Now, could you let go? You're kind of crushing me."

"Sorry!" Kitty squeaked as she let go of Liddell, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. But what happened? How did we get here?"

"I'm not too sure." Kitty replied, thinking back, "You were in a trance of some sort and it was like you couldn't hear us. I tried stopping you, but you ended dragging me down that hole instead. What exactly happened to you Liddell?"

"I'm not sure..."Liddell answered unclear of why that had happened, "We'll have to think about that later right know we need to figure out where we are-"

"I already know where we are." Kitty interrupted Liddell, in a matter-of-tone.

"You do?"

"Yes."

"So where are we?"

"Al'Sahra."

"What? But that's-"

"Impossible?" Liddell nodded her head in response. Kitty got up, and walked towards the cave entrance, "Just look for yourself."

Liddell slowly stood up carefully, being carefully not to injure herself. Walking to where Kitty was Liddell gaped at the scenery before her. Just outside the cave was lush green trees and desert mixed into one. It looked like the cave was on a higher plateau because below them was a market full of people; talking and trading. It was Al'Sahra all right, a lush green Al'Sahra, but Al'Sahra all the same. The identical castle, that was not far away, could not be called a coincidence.

"How?" Liddell breathed, barely able to comprehend what she was seeing.

"I'm not too sure how, but it seems that we've been transported to a different Al'Sahra." Kitty commented lost in thought.

_A different Al'Sahra? Where have I heard something similar...?

* * *

_

"_This place is rockin'! You call this a curse?"_

_They had entered the Al'Sahra castle expecting to find a trapped princess and her guardian, only they didn`t find that. Instead they found a group of people celebrating._

"_You don't understand." Loue said a hint of sadness in his eyes as he gazed at the celebration before them, "This is Al'Sahra from 1,000 years ago."_

"_C'mon, don't jerk me around. We're time-travelers now?" Liddell laughed, jokingly, getting into the spirit of the celebrations._

"_It's true. We should look around some more." Loue announced heading into the crowd, a disbelieving Liddell following after.

* * *

_

"The past..."

"What?" Kitty asked snapping out of her own thoughts, "What did you say?"

"The past... We're in the past Al'Sahra."

* * *

_**Haine-of-Winter: And that is where I will be leaving you. I know it's been a while since I last updated and everything. I'm sorry, it's just I got so caught with school, and we all know what school's like... Anyway, I'm happy that I finally got chapter 10 out there. **__** I meant to do it earlier, but like I already said...**_

_** Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's long overdue but it's out there. That's all that counts! Xp Please review or comment. Thank you! XD  
**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: Me don't own, but oh well, I can write about it anyways**_

_** I wonder how I keep on getting emails about this story being favourited (is 'favourited' even a word?) I feel bad when I see that, especially since I haven't updated in sooooooooooooo long. There's no excuse for me being a late updater. I update when I'm in the mood. I just hope I don't keep you waiting forever for chapters. -o-**_

* * *

_Chapter 11_

Kitty kept on glancing at Liddell nervously as they made their way down a trail they had found leading down to the bottom of the cliff side the cave 'happened' to be on. They treaded carefully as the trail grew shallow in places – leaving only enough space for them to shuffle across. Liddell didn't mind heights all that much, but even she was nervous about looking down to see the land far below their feet.

"Liddell are you sure about this?" Kitty asked as they shuffled along a particularly thin part, "I mean, if we really are in a past Al'Sahra, how do you suppose we're going to get back to our time, if we leave the cave that transported us here?"

"I'm not sure of anything right now," Liddell nodded to the market around the castle, "but my gut's telling me that we need to go to that market." Ever since she had laid her eyes on it she had been getting weird vibes, like butterflies tugging at her gut coaxing her feet to take her to the bustling city below.

"I still don't know..." They had reached the sands of Al'Sahra, the city looming towards them as they crossed the short expanse of desert, "What if people think we look weird because of our clothes?" Kitty swept a hand over her outfit for emphasis.

Liddell sighed turning towards the cat girl; "If you're so worried..." she trailed off and murmured a few words under her breath sweeping her hands down her form. As her hands passed her clothes shimmered and changed. What once was her purple outfit was replaced by a violet Arabian top lined with swirls of gold. The pants hung low on her hips as they puffed out at the bottom into fringes forming slits. Instead of her platform shoes she had violet slippers on, golden hoops adorning her ankle. Her hair was down and a veil lay loosely from black bat clips in her hair. The necklace with the red jewel clashed with her outfit, but Liddell couldn't bear to part with it, so it stayed, nestled between her breasts. "Just use magic to change your outfit, stupid." Liddell commented dryly, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Oh, right." Kitty agreed, embarrassed from her earlier panic. She swept her hands in front of herself and her outfit changed into a light blue Arabian strapless dress. Golden circles _clinked_ together as she fidgeted with the matching sash around her waist, "I should have thought of that."

Liddell silently nodded her eyes spying the bracelet she had seen Kitty with before adorning her wrist. In the heat of the desert's sun, Liddell could make out that the blue stone glinting in the translucent frame was a rose blooming with blue radiance, "Kitty?" when the cat girl nodded in acknowledgment, Liddell continued, "Have you always been wearing that?"

"This?" Kitty held the bracelet out, "I've had it forever." Kitty traced a finger over the blue petals, "My sister gave to me when I was little." Kitty's voice was a soft whisper as she gazed sadly at the ornament.

"Okay..." Liddell replied unsure of why Kitty's mood had changed so suddenly.

Kitty inhaled an obvious shaky breath. Her mood brightened once again and she skipped past Liddell, calling over her shoulder, "Last one there is a rotten pumpkin!" as she dashed towards the city.

* * *

"Don't wander off!" Liddell barked at Kitty as she spied the cat girl trying to escape down the line of merchants in excitement.

Kitty pouted at Liddell as she let her catch up, "I can't help it, Liddell. It's just that everything is so interesting! I've never been to a market like this before."

"I haven't either, but you don't see me acting like a little child..." Liddell sighed wearily as she moved to the side as a cart went bustling down the lane.

"Boo, to you then!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're being a party-pooper!" Kitty stuck her tongue out childishly at her friend.

"Why you-" Liddell was about to give Kitty one good punch on the head when a sudden thundering sound made her pause. Both of them looked to see a large procession of carts filled with exotic objects, wheeling towards them at an alarming rate. Liddell jumped to the side as one cart came close to squishing her. The momentum threw her backwards into the swarming crowd and Liddell was dragged within the stream of bodies. Elbowing and pushing, she finally broke through into a side area that was clear of people. Facing the crowd Liddell tried to spy Kitty within the sea of people, but to no avail.

_Great, just great. I'm lost in a different time, and I've lost my only friend in the entire kingdom! This is not my day._

She eyed the marketplace with annoyance as she twirled around and started walking down the nearly abandoned streets of the city. She kept her eyes on the castle as she navigated herself through the alleys thinking that her best chance was to wait at the castle for Kitty, knowing that her friend would eventually head there looking for Liddell. It wasn't easy, as she had to keep looking down to make sure she didn't bump into one of the random crates that seemed to be placed on every street of the city, and then have to look back up to make sure she could still see the castle from where she was.

She had just swerved around a crate as she was turning around the corner when she looked up and only saw black as her body rammed into something solid.

"Umph!" the force of what she hit sent her flying into the dirt as she landed on her bottom painfully. "Owww..." rubbing her backside her head lifted to glare at what had knocked her down, "What's the big-" She gasped as she realized that she had not only run into a person – not a random crate – but also that the black thing she had glimpsed was a cape. A very _familiar_ cape, as she could see the inside was red, which reminded her of a _certain_ vampire...

Her head swiveled up to meet a pair of concerned red eyes as the tall man leaned forward.

"I'm sorry Miss! Are you alright?"

Liddell could only keep on staring at what she could only believe to be a younger Loue in front of her. _He looks only a little older than me_, Liddell thought as she scrutinized the fact that, 1000 years in the future really didn't age him that much; _I guess that's what being a vampire is like_.

"Is something wrong?" he tilted his head in questioning at her silence.

Numbly she shook her head, as she still couldn't seem to speak.

"Do you need help up?"

She was about to say no, but let out a squeak in surprise when she suddenly found herself effortlessly lifted to her feet. Loue let her go as he began to silently swipe dirt off of her. After he wiped all the dirt off he smiled at her and patted her head with a familiar hand, "All better now?"

His hand on her head filled her with such familiar warmth, that she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around his neck in an embrace.

"M-Miss?" Liddell could hear his confusion and embarrassment as she clung on to him for dear life. He tried to gently pry her loose, but she held on even tighter, refusing to let go, "Miss, y-you're kind of c-choking me."

His breathless voice made her remember what she was doing and she quickly let him go. With an embarrassed flush on her face, she started to step away from a confused Loue, "S-sorry, Loue. I don't know what came over me." As soon as the words left her mouth she realized her mistake. She peeked at his face and knew he hadn't missed the fact that she had said his name, even though he had never met her before.

"How-"

"Liddell!"

_Thank you, Kitty~_

Liddell sighed in relief as she turned just in time to be embraced by her sobbing friend.

"I was so scared! I thought I would never see you again!" Kitty cried clinging to Liddell just like how Liddell had been clinging to Loue a moment ago.

"Come on, stop crying Kitty. You're getting snot all over me." Kitty giggled at this remark. Liddell smiled knowing that she got her friend to calm down a bit, "Now can you let go of me? I'm kind of being crushed here."

"Sorry!" Kitty squeaked as she stepped away, wiping a hand over her eyes. Only then did she notice the tall figure behind Liddell and she gasped in surprise, "L-"

Liddell clamped a hand over her companion's mouth before the cat girl could say anything more. She leaned close and whispered, "Don't say anything. He's the Loue from this time, so he doesn't know us yet. Got it?" Kitty nodded in reply and Liddell let her friend go.

"Excuse me?"

Startled, Liddell looked up. She had forgotten for a moment that Loue was there, studying them in silence, "Yes?"

"Is she your companion?" he asked curiously, head tilted to the side.

"Yup! We got separated in the market earlier." Liddell clarified with a nod. She seemed to become aware of something and turned to Kitty, "How did you find me in the first place? It's almost impossible to walk these streets and not get lost. So, how'd you do it with ease?"

"Oh, that's simple really." Kitty clapped her hands together happily, "I was alone in the market, wondering where you were, when this little girl walked up to me. She said that she had seen you and I get separated and she offered to lead me to where you were."

"How'd she know where I was?" Liddell was confused on how someone could have been keeping track of her in the maze of streets.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask her yourself." Kitty shrugged.

"Well, where is she?" Liddell raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"Right here."

Liddell's body seemed to freeze at the soft whisper like voice. Behind the corner that Kitty had came from, appeared a young girl with tanned skin and violet hair, pulled up to form a topknot. She looked no older than 10 as she gazed at Liddell with her emerald eyes.

"Liddell? Is something wrong?" Kitty's voice sounded warped as a buzzing started to fill Liddell's head, "You look pale..."

A name kept on repeating itself in her head, brushing against a memory.

"Shahrazad?"

She could see a question in Kitty's eyes, "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I don't-" At that moment the buzzing intensified and Liddell gripped her head painfully. She couldn't hear anything anymore, but knew her world was tilting as her eyes glimpsed blue sky, before meeting red eyes as she fell into Loue's arms, the noise washing away all her thoughts.

* * *

_The celebration was in full swing in the castle, as people laughed and drank together. Loue and Liddell had just finished talking to one of the party-goers when a soft voiced called out to them;_

_"Welcome! Oh, hey Loue..."_

_They turned and Liddell saw a little girl staring up at them with intense emerald eyes._

_Loue seemed to be pained as he smiled grimly at the girl, "It's been a while... Princess Shahrazad."_

_Liddell looked incredulously between the two, not believing her ears, "This midget is the princess?"_

_The other two were silent as Shahrazad turned her intense gaze onto Liddell, "..."_

_"You got a problem?" Liddell asked unnerved by the intensity of those emerald eyes._

_"Child." The princess began, lifting her hand out to Liddell, "Give me what you carry."_

_"I'm not carrying anything!" Liddell said as she took a step away from Shahrazad._

_Suddenly a violet smoke started to emanate from her as her eyes seemed to flash with emerald flames, "Liar! Hand over the lamp!"_

_"Wh-What?" Liddell and Loue both watched in confusion as the old lamp they had found earlier flew from Liddell to Shahrazad's awaiting hand._

_Violet smoke started to emit from the lamp as well and took the form of a large buffed genie._

_"So you would try to take my life once more..." Shahrazad's cold-blooded voice sent shivers down Liddell's spine, with the intensity of her malice, "Djinn of the flame, come to my aide!" At the command of its mistress, the Dijinn attacked, forcing Liddell into a fight she didn't want to have._

_It was only later, that the sad fate of Shahrazad – first princess of Al'Sahra – was revealed..._

* * *

Liddell's eyes snapped open as the dream abruptly ended. Her awakening was greeted with gasps as Kitty and Shahrazad were both surprised by her sudden take onto consciousness.

"Kitty?" Liddell's throat felt like it was clogged with cotton balls as she murmured her friend's name.

"Thank god you're awake!" Kitty cried happily, tears of relief forming in the corners of her eyes, "I was afraid you were never going to wake up!"

"H-" Liddell coughed as her throat tickled at the action of trying to speak.

"I'll get some water." Shahrazad offered and hopped from the room cheerfully to get some water.

Liddell sat up slowly, mindful of the dull throb in her head, and took a look around the room. It was exotically furnished with golden spirals lining the wall. Cushions lay around a small table seemingly used as chairs. On closer inspection, Liddell could see everything had a rich aspect as she notice the bed she was lying in had a silky violet canopy hanging above it, as well as the sheets being made of the same material.

"Castle?" Liddell coughed, putting two-and-two together from the furnishings of the room.

"Yup!" Kitty answered, happy that Liddell was awake, "After you fainted, Shahrazad asked Loue to carry you here and is letting us stay here until you're all better."

"..." Liddell was silent as she thought about the little princess and how she was connected to her dream. For some reason every time she thought about her, Liddell would get a sad feeling, almost like regret...

"Here we go!"

Liddell and Kitty looked to the entrance of the room as the drape was swept aside and the Princess walked in with a cup and jug of water for Liddell. She walked over to them and poured water into the glass, placing the jug onto a table beside the bed. She handed the glass to Liddell, who drunk it greedily as the water relieved her sore throat.

"Thank you." Liddell smiled at the princess, who grinned proudly back.

"You're welcome." She replied and sat on the edge of the bed, "I can't believe how long you slept..."

"How long was I out for?"

"A whole day!" Shahrazad exclaimed flopping back on the bed.

"Really?"

"Yup! You slept like a log the whole entire time. Except..."

"Except?" Liddell repeated waiting for Shahrazad to continue.

"Except, for some odd reason you kept on murmuring 'Loue'." Shahrazad didn't seem to notice the blush covering Liddell's face as she looked at the older girl curiously, "Have you and Loue met before?"

"N-No!" Liddell shook her head vigorously.

"..." Shahrazad stared at her for a minute before sighing and hopping off the bed, "Anyways..." she turned to them and smiled, "I have a coronation ceremony tonight and I want you two to come!"

"Really?" Kitty asked with surprise as she jumped up gleefully.

"Yup! Since you and Liddell are my new friends, I want you to be there when we have the celebration!" Shahrazad ran up to Kitty and hugged her waist. She looked up at Kitty with excited eyes, "You guys won't want to miss it! It's going to be the biggest party in the entire kingdom!"

"We'll be there!" Kitty agreed happily, looking over her shoulder at Liddell, "Right, Liddell?"

"Right..." Liddell agreed almost hesitantly as a pang of sadness passed through her at the sudden mention of a 'coronation.'

"Yay!" Shahrazad jumped up and down, before she began dragging Kitty outside, "Since I don't have anything to do now, let's play!"

"Sure!" Kitty smiled happily as she let Princess Shahrazad drag her out of the room.

_I guess they've become quick friends_, Liddell thought as she slipped out of the bed and went to follow them.

She stepped into the corridor and saw that it led to a hall connected to a courtyard filled with flowers and sunlight. She spotted Shahrazad and Kitty chasing each other around the garden. Liddell couldn't help but laugh as she took a step towards them.

"I see you're all better now."

Startled by the sudden voice, Liddell went to automatically hit the person who had snuck up on her.

"Whoa!" Loue exclaimed as he caught her fist before it hit his head. All she could do was gape at him as he scolded her, "Violence won't help you find out who's behind you, Miss."

Liddell snapped her mouth shut, and snatched her hand back, embarrassed with her action, "Sorry."

"It's okay, well, as long as no one got hurt, that is." He smiled before turning his eyes to where Kitty and Shahrazad were playing, "So your name is Liddell?"

"Yeah..." Liddell answered as she gazed at him thoughtfully.

_There's something different about _this_ Loue and the one in the future..._

Liddell noticed that the past Loue had an air of relaxation and content around him. Unlike the future one, who always seemed to carry a sad burden on his shoulder.

_The way he smiles... It's different too._

The Loue in front of her smiled easily as he watched the Princess fondly, "The Princess and Kitty have become quick friends since you've been asleep." When he heard no response from her, he turned an inquisitive smile her way, "Liddell?"

_It's so easy for _this_ one to smile, unlike the future Loue..._

"Liddell?" her name being repeated from up-close snapped her out of her pondering. She immediately blushed as she realized that the curious Loue had leaned his face only inches away from her own as he had tried to get her attention, "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes!" Liddell stuttered, hastily stepping away from him as a deep blush enveloped her face.

"Good then." Loue blinked, confused by her reaction as he straightened, "The Princess would be worried if you got ill again."

"Right..." Liddell shifted her gaze to Kitty and Shahrazad who were making flower crowns from the exotic plants of the garden.

"What-" Liddell tilted her head as she heard Loue speak up, "-do you see when you look at the Princess?"

"Hmmm..." Liddell pondered for a minute before gazing back at her two friends playing, "I see a girl who is carefree and happy with her life style. One who loves her people and friends dearly and purely." She turned to Loue, "And you? What do you see?"

He turned his eyes to watch the little girl. Liddell was surprised to hear a sadness fill his voice as his expression softened, "She has a heavy burden for, being one so young."

"I see..." Liddell agreed before smiling a little at him, "I guess it was hard for Alice to choose Shahrazad for Al'Sahra's first princess. Wasn't it?"

Loue's eyes widened a bit at Liddell's words, "How-"

"Liddell! Loue!" They turned their heads to the garden, where Shahrazad was waving to them, "Come play!"

"Come on, let's go!" Liddell laughed as she grabbed a hold of Loue and dragged him to the garden where the other two were waiting for them.

"Wow!" Kitty gasped from beside Liddell in amazement.

They were at the entrance to the throne room, gazing out at the throng of people celebrating their first ever coronation in Al'Sahra.

"Isn't it amazing?" Kitty laughed as she grabbed Liddell and started dragging her through the crowd.

"I would say overwhelming is a better suited word." Liddell mumbled as she nearly missed running into a person for the hundredth time. She was getting a feeling of déjà vu as her mind replayed the whole 'market' incident, "Please just don't let there be a cart in here."

"Did you say something?" Kitty glanced over her shoulder at Liddell's mumbled comment.

"Nope, nothing." Liddell grinned, looking around the area. Her eyes spotted a familiar topknot of violet hair, "Hey, isn't that Shahrazad over there?" Liddell pointed at the little girl who was talking to the Dijinn of the lamp up on the dais beside the throne.

"You're right! Let's go!" Kitty let go of Liddell's arm and rushed off into the crowd.

"Wait up Kitty!" Liddell shouted after, but Kitty didn't hear her as she soon became hidden within the crowd from Liddell's sight.

Liddell went to follow her friend, but all of a sudden felt a tug on her hand. Looking over her shoulder, a resident of the kingdom grinned at her, "Come dance, young Miss!"

"Um... that's-" she didn't even get to finish as she was suddenly being tugged through the crowd and swept up into what seemed to be a traditional dance of the people.

"Wait! I don't know the steps!" Liddell cried in panic as people started to move to the beat around her.

"No worry! I'll teach you as we go!" Her new companion then led her forward and back as the crowd swayed with the music.

Soon enough, Liddell got the hang of the steps. When the song ended she was passed onto another partner, who was kind enough to teach her the next dance. And so on, and so on, she went until she lost count of the songs and partners she had gone through. One song ended and she was saying goodbye to one partner when someone spoke up from behind her, "You look like you're enjoying yourself."

"Yup! This party is rockin'!" Liddell grinned as she turned and was surprised to see Loue smiling at her, "Loue!"

"Yes?" he watched her curiously at her sudden shout of his name, "What is it?"

"Um, nothing. I just didn't realize it was you, that's all." Liddell clarified as she stepped back, finding that he was really close to her.

"Is that so?" Loue enquired as he took a step towards her.

"Yep, so then I'll be going now..." Liddell said as she went to slip into the crowd.

"Wait." Loue grabbed a hold of her wrist, tugging her closer to him, "Won't you dance with me?"

"I-Whoa!" Liddell was flung forward as someone had roughly bumped into her. She fell into Loue as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling onto the floor.

"I'm guessing that's a 'yes'?" his eyebrow rose in questioning, a small smile tugging the corner of his lips.

"I-I guess so." Liddell scratched her chin in a haughty manner to hide her embarrassment of what had happened a moment ago.

He smiled in response and tugged Liddell into his arms. The song was slower than the other ones before it. It seemed to lull the crowd as partners swayed in their own little worlds.

Liddell blushed, at the intimacy of the moves. Instead of being twirled around and flying all over the place, the moves were controlled and graceful. Loue held her close to him – as did all the other partners around them – and led her through an easy pace. He brought them to a halt and guided her hands upward, their palms flat together, and brought them down into an outward arc so then her arms were spread to her sides. He stepped in and Liddell couldn't help but blush as their bodies met. Loue guided them into a circle then stopped and brought in one of Liddell's arms, slowly twirling her around. She ended up with her back leaning into his front as they took a couple of steps forward, and then she was being twirled outward and then back in, so she was embraced within the circle of his arms.

Liddell gazed up with her violet eyes, meeting Loue's inquisitive ruby ones. Her breath froze in her throat as he leaned his head down only inches from her own, "Why does it feel like... We should know each other?"

"I-" Liddell began only for the music to end abruptly, then a trumpet suddenly blaring.

Loue released her, and Liddell let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, as they both looked towards the throne.

"Hear me, all! I, the Lord of Fire, will now begin the coronation of our first princess, Shahrazad!" the Djinn bellowed out to the crowd. They erupted into cheers as Shahrazad stepped forward onto the dais. The Djinn turned to his mistress, "My Lady, do you take in all responsibilities and duties of being a Princess of Al'Sahra?"

"Yes." Came the soft reply of Shahrazad.

"Will you protect and forever love the land and its people?"

"Yes." The reply was stronger and more confident as Shahrazad stood proudly in front of her servant.

"Then let it be known to all of Al'Sahra! Our first princess is crowned today, Princess Shahrazad!" the Djinn shouted over the crowed and placed a small golden jewelled band onto her forehead.

The red jewel gleamed as she took her first seat into her throne. The crowd erupted into cheers and laughter as they celebrated the birth of their very first princess.

"A wonderful coronation, wouldn't you say?" Loue hummed as he glanced at Liddell.

"Coronation..." Liddell murmured under her breadth, as a familiar sensation of sadness washed over her.

"Liddell?" Loue's voice was warped as Liddell could barely make herself tilt her head up to look at the vampire's concerned face, "Are you okay?"

She wanted to reply, but her head was being filled with that familiar buzzing that was accompanied with unconsciousness. Her eyes closed for a second and she felt her body tilt. A pair of arms circled her and she had only enough energy to blink her eyes back open to see a concerned Loue gazing down at her. That's when she felt something wet sliding down her cheeks and realized tears were falling from her eyes. Her head tilted towards the throne as she felt Loue pick her up and start running from the room. Her eyes landed on Princess Shahrazad who was with Kitty laughing merrily.

Gazing at them one word managed to slip between her lips, before darkness took her to sleep;

_"Why...?"_

* * *

_"So who's this lady?" Liddell questioned confused on how another woman had suddenly taken the place of Princess Shahrazad who moments ago was in front of them._

_"It's the present-day princess, Lady Lyra." Loue explained lifting up the unconscious woman and settling her into the throne that had seemed to suddenly appear._

_"Wait, so then... Who's Princess Shahrazad?" Liddell looked around the room noticing that there were no more party-goers and that even the interior of the room itself had changed._

_"She was supposed to be the first princess of Al'Sahra. 1000 years ago..." Loue trailed off as his mind was lost to memories._

_"Gh..."_

_They both turned their attention to Lyra, who was stirring from unconsciousness._

_"Hey, you okay?" Liddell asked as Lyra's violet eyes fluttered open._

_"Yes, I think so..." she replied sleepily, "I was placed under a spell. I dreamed..." a dreamy expression crossed her face as she relived what she had seen, "About Al'Sahra, when it was still alive, so long ago. About a young princess..."_

_"..." Liddell was silent as an image of the young Shahrazad's soul crying out in grief popped into her head._

_"So you are she who saved me?"_

_Liddell snapped out of her thought's as she grinned at the princess, "Huh? Oh, uh, yup! I just stumbled along!"_

_Lyra placed a hand under her chin, leaning on it in thought, "Ah, the Eld Witch's curse... It must have awakened Princess Shahrazad's soul."_

_"I read a book about the first princess of Al'Sahra. The day after she took the throne, the Eld Witch... It probably reminded her of the Great War again. She must have suffered. And she was still so young." Liddell hung her head solemnly, thinking about how Shahrazad must have felt being so happy one day and then dying the day after..._

_"Thank you, young girl." Liddell looked up at Lyra at the comment, "I'm sure Princess Shahrazad was saved thanks to you."_

_"I don't deserve any credit." Liddell bitterly bit out, feeling ashamed of herself for the first time about breaking the seal, "Not till I give these runes to Queen Alice so she can... Seal the witch." She shook her head and her eyes became determined as she clarified, "Or else it's just like doing nothing."_

_"You're very hard on yourself." Lyra murmured with a smile tilting her head in recognition, "I admire that. I'll grant you my Sigil. Please, take it." The air above Lyra glowed faintly as the Sigil floated to Liddell. With a glow, the Sigil and the rune tome fused together, leaving the Sigil imprinted on a page in the book. Closing the book, Liddell looked up at Lyra as she continued, "And I will open the door to the final kingdom." She paused and smiled a sisterly smile at Liddell, "If anything distracts you... Then go wild, go crazy, let it all out."_

_"Sounds good!" Liddell grinned over her shoulder as she and Loue started to leave the castle._

_"Oh, one more thing." Liddell paused at the sound of the princess's voice. She gazed back at Lyra questioningly, "Allow me to lend you my power. Search for the red crystal."_

_Liddell nodded in understanding and hurried to catch up to Loue as they went in search of their next adventure. Leaving the story of Princess Shahrazad behind..._

* * *

"Not again..." Liddell groaned as her eyes blinked open. She was in the same room that she had been in the day before.

"Liddell?" Loue's face appeared above her own, a concerned expression marring it, "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah," Liddell reassured him sitting up.

"Are you sure?" Loue frowned at her with worry, "I have not known you for long, but I doubt it is normal for a girl your age to be fainting like this."

"It's fine. My mind is just trying to recover something it's lost." Liddell waved his concern off slipping from the bed and standing.

"What do you mean?" Loue stood hovering nearby her, worried that she might faint again.

"You wouldn't understand..." Liddell sighed as she stepped forwards, but suddenly froze when she saw the light seeping through the doorway. The memories that had come back to her popped back into her head and feared for the worst as she inquired of Loue, "What time is it?"

"You slept the whole night away. It's early morning of the next day." Loue recounted, not understanding why she would ask all of a sudden.

Liddell cursed under her breath and abruptly rushed out of the room.

"Liddell?" Loue called after her as he followed her into the hall.

"Where are Kitty and Shahrazad?" Liddell sounded desperate as she rushed down the hall with Loue on her heels as she searched for her two friends.

"In the throne room. Why? What's wrong?" he asked hearing the dread in her voice.

"The witch, she's coming." Liddell gushed out, worried for the Princess's and Kitty's safety.

"Witch? What are you talking about?"

"I mean-"

_BOOM!_

"Crap!" Liddell ran faster towards the throne room. She could hear shouts of panic emanating from in front of them. As they rounded the corner to the throne room's entrance she saw people running out in panic as fire balls seemed to dance in the air behind them.

"Frei!" Liddell shouted. Icicle shards rushed forward causing steam to erupt as they came into contact with the fireballs. Murmuring a levitation spell, Liddell jumped over the crowd running out of the throne room.

Landing softly into the room, she saw there was even more fireballs in the room itself, not including the new addition of fire snakes that slithered within the air. Liddell looked towards the throne and was relieved to see Kitty and Shahrazad being escorted through a secret exit by the Fire Lord. Liddell heard a hissing sound from above and jumped out of the way just as a fire snake chomped down onto the floor. The floor melted under the intense heat of the fiery serpent as it got ready to strike out again.

"Freion!" Liddell cried. Ice appeared all around her and not only took out the one serpent, but also many fireballs that had been slowly encroaching on her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a high pitched voice called from above Liddell. She whipped her head up and saw a girl a little older than Shahrazad floating on a large piece of cloth that seemed to be burning like a flame at the edges. The girl leaned down peering at Liddell, "A little witchy... I'm thinking you're the one who defeated Tsuru, Hmm?"

Liddell glared at the girl above her, "And I'm thinking you're another one of the Eld Witch's daughters?"

"Correct!" The girl laughed maniacally, "Oh, now this will be fun!" She waved a hand and more fireballs appeared in the air, "If I beat you, sister will be so jealous." Liddell watched as all the fireballs and snakes converged into one spot the flames fusing together to make one giant serpent.

It barred its fangs at her as it struck forward and Liddell dodged being cooked alive. "Freion!" Ice formed and struck the serpent in the eye making it recoil with a hiss. Angrily, it struck out again and Liddell jumped out of the way sending another ice attack to it face. Seeing the attack coming, it deflected it with its tail sending it back at Liddell who flew back from the impact of the ice; sliding into the wall on the far side of the room, "Uggh..." she groaned picking herself off the floor as the snake slithered closer.

Maniacal laughter sounded from above, as the girl grinned wickedly below, "Little witchy, let us see who's stronger! My flames or your weak little spells?"

* * *

_**Haine-of-Winter: Chapter 11 is now complete! XD Took forever, but I finally made it. This year my New Year's resolution is: updating my stories at least once a month. So expect the next chapter next month (or maybe even earlier)!**_

_** The second daughter of the Eld Witch has appeared! You'll be finding out her name in the next chapter. And I realized something... The Eld Witch only as 5 daughters, not 6! 0n0 I kept on thinking there were 6 because of the 6 kingdoms in the game, one for each, but then I remembered that Rem Sacchras wasn't made until after the Great War... Stupid of me, huh? ;)**_

_** Well I hope this chapter was fulfilling and enjoyable to you all! Remember to review and/or comment. Look forward to the next chapter – Liddell vs the Fire Charmer! XD**_


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